The Siege of Paris, lasting from 19 September 1870 to 28 January 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces, led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune.

Contents

As early as August 1870 the Prussian 3rd Army led by Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia (the future Emperor Frederick III) had been marching towards Paris, but was recalled to deal with French forces accompanied by Napoleon III, these forces were crushed at the Battle of Sedan, and the road to Paris was left open. Personally leading the Prussian forces, King William I of Prussia, along with his chief of staff Helmuth von Moltke, took the 3rd Army and the new Prussian Army of the Meuse under Crown Prince Albert of Saxony, and marched on Paris virtually unopposed. In Paris, the Governor and commander-in-chief of the city's defenses, General Louis Jules Trochu, assembled a force of 60,000 regular soldiers who had managed to escape from Sedan under Joseph Vinoy or who were gathered from depot troops. Together with 90,000 Mobiles (Territorials), a brigade of 13,000 naval seamen and 350,000 National Guards, the potential defenders of Paris totalled around 513,000 personnel,[1] the compulsorily enrolled National Guards were however untrained.

The Prussian armies quickly reached Paris, and on 15 September Moltke issued orders for the investment of the city. Crown Prince Albert's army closed in on Paris from the north unopposed, while Crown Prince Frederick moved in from the south, on 17 September a force under Vinoy attacked Frederick's army near Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in an effort to save a supply depot there, but it was eventually driven back by artillery fire. The railroad to Orléans was cut, and on the 18th Versailles was taken, and then served as the 3rd Army's and eventually Wilhelm's headquarters. By 19 September the encirclement was complete, and the siege officially began. Responsible for the direction of the siege was General (later Field Marshal) von Blumenthal.

Prussia's chancellor Otto von Bismarck suggested shelling Paris to ensure the city's quick surrender and render all French efforts to free the city pointless, but the German high command, headed by the king of Prussia, turned down the proposal on the insistence of General von Blumenthal, on the grounds that a bombardment would affect civilians, violate the rules of engagement, and turn the opinion of third parties against the Germans, without speeding up the final victory. It was also contended that a quick French surrender would leave the new French armies undefeated and allow France to renew the war shortly after, the new French armies would have to be annihilated first, and Paris would have to be starved into surrender.

A company of the French National Guards

Trochu had little faith in the ability of the National Guards, which made up half the force defending the city. So instead of making any significant attempt to prevent the investment by the Germans, Trochu hoped that Moltke would attempt to take the city by storm, and the French could then rely on the city's defenses, these consisted of the 33 km (21 mi) Thiers wall and a ring of sixteen detached forts, all of which had been built in the 1840s.[2] Moltke never had any intention of attacking the city and this became clear shortly after the siege began. Trochu changed his plan and allowed Vinoy to make a demonstration against the Prussians west of the Seine, on 30 September Vinoy attacked Chevilly with 20,000 soldiers and was soundly repulsed by the 3rd Army. Then on 13 October the II Bavarian Corps was driven from Châtillon but the French were forced to retire in face of Prussian artillery.

"The War: Defence of Paris—Students Going to Man the Fortifications". From the Illustrated London News of 1 October 1870. Perhaps one of the more iconic scenes from the Franco-Prussian War.

General Carey de Bellemare commanded the strongest fortress north of Paris at Saint Denis, on 29 October de Bellemare attacked the Prussian Guard at Le Bourget without orders, and took the town. The Guard actually had little interest in recapturing their positions at Le Bourget, but Crown Prince Albert ordered the city retaken anyway; in the battle of Le Bourget the Prussian Guards succeeded in retaking the city and captured 1,200 French soldiers. Upon hearing of the French surrender at Metz and the defeat at Le Bourget, morale in Paris began to sink, the people of Paris were beginning to suffer from the effects of the German blockade. Hoping to boost morale Trochu launched the largest attack from Paris on November 30 even though he had little hope of achieving a breakthrough. Nevertheless, he sent Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot with 80,000 soldiers against the Prussians at Champigny, Créteil and Villiers. In what became known as the battle of Villiers the French succeeded in capturing and holding a position at Créteil and Champigny. By 2 December the Württemberg Corps had driven Ducrot back into the defenses and the battle was over by 3 December.

On 19 January a final breakout attempt was aimed at the Château of Buzenval in Rueil-Malmaison near the Prussian Headquarters, west of Paris, the Crown Prince easily repulsed the attack inflicting over 4,000 casualties while suffering just over 600 himself. Trochu resigned as governor and left General Joseph Vinoy with 146,000 defenders.

During the winter, tensions began to arise in the Prussian high command. Field-Marshal Helmuth von Moltke and General Leonhard, Count von Blumenthal who commanded the siege (seen in the illustration on this page behind Bismarck's right shoulder) were primarily concerned with a methodical siege that would destroy the detached forts around the city and slowly strangle the defending forces with a minimum of German casualties.

Prussian artillery during the siege

But as time wore on, there was growing concern that a prolonged war was placing too much strain on the German economy and that an extended siege would convince the French Government of National Defense that Prussia could still be beaten. A prolonged campaign would also allow France time to reconstitute a new army and convince neutral powers to enter the war against Prussia. To Bismarck, Paris was the key to breaking the power of the intransigent republican leaders of France, ending the war in a timely manner, and securing peace terms favourable to Prussia. Moltke was also worried that insufficient winter supplies were reaching the German armies investing the city, as diseases such as tuberculosis were breaking out amongst the besieging soldiers; in addition, the siege operations competed with the demands of the ongoing Loire Campaign against the remaining French field armies.

In January, on Bismarck's advice, the Germans fired some 12,000 shells into the city over 23 nights in an attempt to break Parisian morale. About 400 perished or were wounded by the bombardment, which "had little effect on the spirit of resistance in Paris."[3]Delescluze declared, "The Frenchmen of 1870 are the sons of those Gauls for whom battles were holidays." Due to a severe shortage of food, Parisians were forced to slaughter whatever animals at hand. Rats, dogs, cats, and horses were regular fare on restaurant menus. Even Castor and Pollux, the only pair of elephants in Paris, were not spared.

Air medical transport is often stated to have first occurred in 1870 during the Siege of Paris when 160 wounded French soldiers were evacuated from the city by hot-air balloon, but this myth has been definitively disproven by full review of the crew and passenger records of each balloon which left Paris during the siege.[4]

Elihu B. Washburne

During the siege, the only head of diplomatic mission from a major power who remained in Paris was United States Minister to France, Elihu B. Washburne. As a representative of a neutral country, Washburne was able to play a unique role in the conflict, becoming one of the few channels of communication into and out of the city for much of the siege, he also led the way in providing humanitarian relief to foreign nationals, including ethnic Germans.[5]

On 25 January 1871, Wilhelm I overruled Moltke and ordered the field-marshal to consult with Bismarck for all future operations. Bismarck immediately ordered the city to be bombarded with large-caliber Krupp siege guns, this prompted the city's surrender on 28 January 1871. Paris sustained more damage in the 1870–1871 siege than in any other conflict.

Secret armistice discussions began on January 23, 1871 and continued at Versailles between Jules Favre and Bismarck until the 27th, on the French side there was concern that the National Guard would rebel when news of the capitulation became public. Bismarck's advice was "provoke an uprising then while you still have an army to suppress it with", the final terms agreed on were that the French regular troops (less one division) would be disarmed, Paris would pay an indemnity of two hundred million francs, and the fortifications around the perimeter of the city would be surrendered. In return the armistice was extended until February 19.[6]

Food supplies from the provinces, as well as shiploads from Britain and the United States, began to enter the starving city almost immediately.[7] Thirty thousand Prussian, Bavarian and Saxon troops held a brief victory parade in Paris on March 1, 1871 and Bismarck honored the armistice by sending train-loads of food into the city, the German troops departed after two days, to take up temporary encampments to the east of the city; to be withdrawn from there as well as soon as France paid the agreed war indemnity. While Parisians scrubbed the streets "polluted" by the triumphal entry no serious incidents had occurred during the short and symbolic occupation of the city, this was in part because the Germans had avoided entry into areas such as Belleville, where hostility was reportedly high.[8]

Balloon mail was the only means by which communications from the besieged city could reach the rest of France. The use of balloons to carry mail was first proposed by the photographer and balloonist Felix Nadar, who had established the grandiosely titled No. 1 Compagnie des Aérostatiers, with a single balloon, the Neptune, at its disposal, to perform tethered ascents for observation purposes. However the Prussian encirclement of the city made this pointless, and on 17 September Nadar wrote to the Council for the Defence of Paris proposing the use of balloons for communication with the outside world: a similar proposal had also been made by the balloonist Eugène Godard.

The first balloon launch was carried out on 23 September, using the Neptune, and carried 125 kg (276 lb) of mail in addition to the pilot. After a three-hour flight it landed at Craconville 83 km (52 mi) from Paris.[9] Following this success a regular mail service was established, with a rate of 20 centimes per letter. Two workshops to manufacture balloons were set up, one under the direction of Nadar in the Elysềe-Montmartre dance-hall (later moved to the Gare du Nord),[10] and the other under the direction of Godard in the Gare d'Orleans. Around 66 balloon flights were made, including one that accidentally set a world distance record by ending up in Norway,[11] the vast majority of these succeeded: only five were captured by the Prussians, and three went missing, presumably coming down in the Atlantic or Irish Sea. The number of letters carried has been estimated at around 2.5 million.[12]

The departure of Leon Gambetta

Some balloons also carried passengers in addition to the cargo of mail, most notably Léon Gambetta, the minister for War in the new government, who was flown out of Paris on 7 October, the balloons also carried homing pigeons out of Paris to be used for a pigeon post. This was the only means by which communications from the rest of France could reach the besieged city. A specially laid telegraph cable on the bed of the Seine had been discovered and cut by the Prussians on 27 September,[13] couriers attempting to make their way through the German lines were almost all intercepted and although other methods were tried including attempts to use balloons, dogs and message canisters floated down the Seine, these were all unsuccessful. The pigeons were taken to their base, first at Tours and later at Poitiers, and when they had been fed and rested were ready for the return journey. Tours lies some 200 km from Paris and Poitiers some 300 km. Before release, they were loaded with their dispatches. Initially the pigeon post was only used for official communications but on 4 November the government announced that members of the public could send messages, these being limited to twenty words at a charge of 50 centimes per word.[14]

These were then copied onto sheets of cardboard and photographed by a M. Barreswille, a photographer based in Tours, each sheet contained 150 messages and was reproduced as a print about 40 x 55 mm (1.5 x 2.25 in) in size: each pigeon could carry nine of these. The photographic process was further refined by René Dagron to allow more to be carried: Dagron, with his equipment, was flown out of Paris on 12 November in the aptly named Niépce, narrowly escaping capture by the Prussians. The photographic process allowed multiple copies of the messages to be sent, so that although only 57 of the 360 pigeons released reached Paris more than 60,000 of the 95,000 messages sent were delivered.[15][16] (some sources give a considerably higher figure of around 150,000 official and 1 million private communications,[17] but this figure is arrived at by counting all copies of each message.)

The continued presence of German troops outside the city angered Parisians. Further resentment arose against the French government, and in March 1871 Parisian workers and members of the National Guard rebelled and established the Paris Commune, a radical and socialist government, which lasted through late May of that year.

Empires of Sand by David W. Ball (Bantam Dell, 1999) is a novel in two parts, the first of which is set during the Franco-Prussian war, more particularly the Siege of Paris during the winter of 1870-71. Key elements of the Siege, including the hot-air balloons used for reconnaissance and messages, the tunnels beneath the city, the starvation and the cold, combine to render a vivid impression of war-time Paris before its surrender.

The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett is a novel which follows the fortunes of two sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines. The latter runs away to make a disastrous marriage in France, where after being abandoned by her husband, she lives through the siege of Paris and the Commune.

Elusive Liberty is a novel by Glen Davies. It follows the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, Major Auguste Bartholdi, who fought against the German invaders as an aide-de-camp to General Garibaldi and is in Paris during the Siege.[18]

Franco-Prussian War
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The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the Fre

4.
Map of German and French armies near their common border on 31 July 1870

Saint-Cloud
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Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.6 kilometres from the centre of Paris, canonized after his death, the village where his tomb was located took the name of Sanctus Clodoaldus. A park contains the ruins of the Château de Saint-Cloud, built in 1572 and destroyed by fire in 1870, the château was the resi

German Empire
–
The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, f

North German Confederation
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The North German Confederation was a confederation of 22 previously independent states of northern Germany, with nearly 30 million inhabitants. It was the first modern German nation state and the basis for the later German Empire, after several unsuccessful proposals from several sides to reform the German Confederation, the North German major powe

1.
First session of the (then still provisional) Reichstag on the 24 February 1867

Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it beca

Grand Duchy of Baden
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The Grand Duchy of Baden was a state in the southwest of Germany on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918 and it came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subsequently split into different lines, which were unified in 1771. After World War II, the French military government in 1945 created the st

1.
Karlsruhe Palace, from 1718 residence of the Margraves of Baden-Durlach, from 1806 of the Grand Duchy of Baden

3.
Monument to the Constitution of Baden (and the Grand Duke for granting it), in Rondellplatz, Karlsruhe, Germany

Kingdom of Bavaria
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The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1805 as Maximilian I Joseph, the crown would go on being held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom came to an

France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territ

1.
One of the Lascaux paintings: a horse – Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC

French Third Republic
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It came to an end on 10 July 1940. Harsh reparations exacted by the Prussians after the war resulted in the loss of the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine, social upheaval, and the establishment of the Paris Commune. The early governments of the Third Republic considered re-establishing the monarchy, but confusion as to the nature of that monarc

1.
A French propaganda poster from 1917 is captioned with an 18th century quote: "Even in 1788, Mirabeau was saying that War is the National Industry of Prussia."

4.
In France, children were taught in school not to forget the lost provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, which were coloured in black on maps.

Wilhelm I, German Emperor
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William I, or in German Wilhelm I, of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor, as well as the first Head of State of a united Germany. Under the leadership of William and his Minister President Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. Contrary t

4.
Caricature of Wilhelm I by Thomas Nast which appeared in The Fight at Dame Europa's School by Henry William Pullen.

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
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Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field. He is often referred to as Moltke the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke, Moltke was born in P

Louis Jules Trochu
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Louis Jules Trochu was a French military leader and politician. He served as President of the Government of National Defense—Frances de facto head of state—from 4 September 1870 until his resignation on 22 January 1871, Trochu was born at Le Palais. Educated at St. Cyr, he received a commission in the Staff Corps in 1837, and was promoted to lieute

1.
Louis Jules Trochu

2.
1871 caricature showing Napoleon III dressed as a monk and Louis Jules Trochu dressed as a member of the clergy, tied to a post labeled "L'homme de Sedan. L'homme de Paris." Both men were held responsible for the French defeat which ended the Franco-Prussian War.

Joseph Vinoy
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Joseph Vinoy was a French soldier. He originally intended to join the Church, but, after years at a seminary, he decided upon a military career. As a sergeant in the 14th line infantry, he took part in the Algerian expedition of 1830 and he won his commission at the capture of Algiers and during the subsequent campaigns rose to the rank of Colonel.

1.
Joseph Vinoy

Surrender (military)
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Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully, without fighting, or it may be the result of defeat in battle, a sovereign state may surrender following defeat in a war, usually by signing a peace treaty or capi

Garde Mobile
–
The Garde mobile was intended to be the body which would in effect conscript all who had been able to avoid military service. The Garde would also take in all conscripts on completion of their army service, napoleon III took up the idea and announced on 12 December 1866 that the Garde Mobile would eventually attain a strength of 400,000 troops. Its

2.
The Attack at Dawn (1877). The Garde Mobile rush from an inn to defend themselves from the advancing Prussian troops. The Walters Art Museum.

Battle of Villiers
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The Battle of Villiers, also called the Battle of Champigny, was the largest of the French sorties from besieged Paris during the Franco–Prussian War. After news reached Paris of the French defeat at the battle of Le Bourget, attempting to counter the grim mood, General Louis Jules Trochu decided to attempt a breakout which could possibly link up w

3.
Le fond de la Giberne, 1882, by Alphonse de Neuville. A dying French infantryman gives his last cartridges to a clairon

Battle of Buzenval (1870)
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The Battle of Buzenval, part of the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The besieged troops in Paris, under the orders of General Louis Trochu, made a sortie in the direction of Versailles. The second group, commanded by General Noël, had 1,350 infantry and 10 cannons to operate in the south coast of Malmaison Park, one on the left, unde

1.
Defence of Longboyau's gate, château of Buzenval, October 21st 1870; painted by Alphonse de Neuville

Battle of Wissembourg (1870)
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The Battle of Wissembourg or Battle of Weissenburg, the first of the Franco-Prussian War, was joined when three German army corps surprised the small French garrison at Wissembourg on August 4,1870. The defenders, greatly outnumbered, fought stubbornly, in June,1870 Napoleon III had moved the French army into Lorraine and occupied Saarbrücken. Napo

1.
The 5th Royal Bavarian Regiment at the battle of Wissembourg, 1870.

Battle of Spicheren
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The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the Battle of Forbach, was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz, the Battle of Spicheren, on 5 August, was the second of three critical French defeats. The aging General von Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move and he move

1.
Map of Prussian and German offensive, 5–6 August 1870

2.
French and German positions at 6 PM on 6 August 1870

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Anton von Werner's Assault on the heights of Spicheren showing General François's last charge

Siege of Strasbourg
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The Siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870. After the Battle of Wörth, Crown Prince Frederick detached General August von Werder to move south against the fortress of Strasbourg, at the time, Strasbourg was considered to be one of the strongest fortres

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Strasbourg in ruins after the siege

Battle of Mars-la-Tour
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The Battle of Mars-La-Tour was fought on 16 August 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, near the town of Mars-La-Tour in northeast France. Two Prussian corps encountered the entire French Army of the Rhine in an engagement and. A cavalry patrol, the 1st Squadron of 1st Hanoverian Dragoon Regiment No and they located the French Army near Vionville,

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Von Bredow's Death Ride - the Prussian 7th Cuirassiers charge the French guns at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour

2.
An 1895 map of the battle

3.
The 16th Uhlans charge the French lines

Battle of Gravelotte
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The Battle of Gravelotte on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle during the Franco-Prussian War, named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier. The battlefield extended from the woods border the Moselle above Metz to Roncourt. Other villages which played an important part in the battle of Gravelot

2.
The "Rifle Battalion 9 from Lauenburg" at Gravelotte, painting by Ernst Zimmer

Siege of Metz (1870)
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The Siege of Metz lasting from 19 August –27 October 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a decisive Prussian victory. After being held at the Battle of Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaine retreated into the defenses of Metz, there he was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies on 19 August. The French

1.
The Surrender of the French Army at Metz

2.
Franco–Prussian war of 1870. Defence of Metz by the French Army.

Battle of Bazeilles
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It took place in Bazeilles, France, a small village in the department of Ardennes near Sedan, and involved a force of Bavarian soldiers battling against French marines and partisans. The battle was, in effect, an ambush of the Bavarians, by a detachment of the Blue Division Troupes de marine. Marsouin snipers, along with local guerrillas, fired on

3.
Das Blutbad in Bazeilles. Bavarian troops were ambushed by French marines hiding in a house

Battle of Sedan
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The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco–Prussian War on 1 September 1870. Marshal MacMahon was wounded during the attacks and command passed to General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, after its defeat at Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaines Army of the Rhine retreated to Metz where it was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second

Battle of Coulmiers
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The Battle of Coulmiers was fought on November 9,1870 between French and Bavarian forces during the Franco-Prussian War, ending in French victory. The Army of the Loire, under General DAurelle de Paladines, surprised a Bavarian army under Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen at the village of Coulmiers, forcing the Bavarian forces into

1.
Salut à la victoire (Coulmiers), by Henri Dujardin-Beaumetz

Battle of Havana (1870)
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The Battle of Havana on 9 November 1870 was a single ship action between the German gunboat Meteor and the French aviso Bouvet off the coast of Havana, Cuba during the Franco-Prussian War. At 8 a. m. on November 7 the Meteor arrived in Havana harbour after leaving Nassau some days before, an hour later the French aviso Bouvet arrived from Martiniqu

1.
Portrayals of the battle by a German artist (top) and a French one (bottom)

Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande
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The Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande on 28 November 1870 was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War, won by Prussia. In an attempt to relieve the Siege of Paris, French General Crouzats XX Corps launched an attack against three Prussian brigades resting in Beaune-la-Rolande. These brigades were from the Prussian X Corps which was detailed to guard the flan

1.
A near-contemporary depiction of the battle

2.
Prussian troops barricading the streets of Beaune-la-Rolande

3.
An engraving depicting French troops at the battle

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An ossuary containing the remains of 402 French soldiers killed at Beaune-la-Rolande

Battle of Hallue
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The Battle of Hallue was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War on December 23 and 24,1870. The battle was fought between 40,000 French under General Louis Faidherbe and 22,500 Prussian troops under Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel, the French lost heavily in the village lying in front of their position. However, the Prussians were unable to carry the en

1.
General Faidherbe, portrait 1860

3.
General von Manteuffel

4.
Chassepot rifle, model 1866

Battle of Bapaume (1871)
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The Battle of Bapaume was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War which defeated French attempts to relieve the besieged city of Péronne, Somme. The battle was fought on 3 January 1871 near the town of Bapaume, the Prussian 1st Army had reached Bapaume at the end of December while at the same time the French Army of the North under Faidherbe moved

Battle of Villersexel
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The Battle of Villersexel took place on 9 January 1871 as part of the Franco-Prussian War. Elements of the French Armée de lEst under General Bourbaki engaged August von Werders Prussian forces and it resulted in a French victory. In the turmoil and confusion following major reverses and capitulations at Sedan, Paris, and Metz, the Armée de lEst wa

Battle of Le Mans
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The Battle of Le Mans was a Prussian victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France. After the victory at the Battle of Orleans, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia marched his army further to the west towards Le Mans, antoine Chanzy had under his command about 150,000 soldiers stationed in Le Mans. The bulk of t

1.
Battle of Le Mans

Battle of the Lisaine

1.
Battle of the Lisaine

Siege of Belfort
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The Siege of Belfort was a 103-day military assault and blockade of the city of Belfort, France by Prussian forces during the Franco-Prussian War. The French garrison held out until the January 1871 armistice between France and the German Empire obligated French forces to abandon the stronghold in February 1871. Belfort is located in a gap between

Belgium and the Franco-Prussian War
–
Though not actually a belligerent in the Franco–Prussian War, Belgian society and politics were heavily affected by the conflict, and in particular the fear of invasion by either side. So when news of the declaration of war was received, the Belgian government of Jules dAnethan, under King Leopold II, the gold reserves of the National Bank were hur

Paris Commune
–
The Paris Commune was a radical socialist and revolutionary government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871. Following the defeat of Emperor Napoleon III in September 1870, the French Second Empire swiftly collapsed, in its stead rose a Third Republic at war with Prussia, which laid siege to Paris for four months. A hotbed of radicalism, F

1.
A barricade on Rue Voltaire, after its capture by the regular army during the Bloody Week

2.
Louis Auguste Blanqui, leader of the Commune's far-left faction, was imprisoned for the entire time of the Commune.

3.
Eugène Varlin led several thousand National Guard soldiers to march to the Hotel de Ville chanting 'Long Live the Commune!".

4.
Revolutionary units of the National Guard briefly seized the Hotel de Ville on 31 October 1870, but the uprising failed.

Frederick III, German Emperor
–
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for ninety-nine days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl, known informally as Fritz, was the son of Emperor Wilhelm I and was raised in his familys tradition of military service. Following the unification of Germany in 1871 his father, then King of Prussia, Fr

4.
William allowed Frederick few official duties, such as attending balls and socializing with dignitaries.

Napoleon III
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Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I and he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution, during

4.
The lakeside house at Arenenberg, Switzerland, where Napoleon III spent much of his youth and exile.

Wilhelm I of Germany
–
William I, or in German Wilhelm I, of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor, as well as the first Head of State of a united Germany. Under the leadership of William and his Minister President Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. Contrary t

4.
Caricature of Wilhelm I by Thomas Nast which appeared in The Fight at Dame Europa's School by Henry William Pullen.

Albert of Saxony
–
Albert was a German King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the eldest son of Prince John, by his wife Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Albert had a successful military career leading Saxon troops which participated in the First Schleswig War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the Franco-Prussian War. Otherwise, his reign as king was largel

Investment (military)
–
Investment is the military process of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape. It serves both to cut communications with the world, and to prevent supplies and reinforcements from being introduced. A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards an

Versailles (city)
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According to the 2008 census, the population of the city is 88,641 inhabitants, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975. A new town, founded by the will of King Louis XIV, it was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status of city,

Leonhard von Blumenthal
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Von Blumenthal was born in Schwedt, Brandenburg on 30 July 1810, the son of Captain Ludwig von Blumenthal, who was killed in 1813 at the Battle of Dennewitz. He entered the Guards as 2nd lieutenant in 1827 and he studied at the Berlin General War School. After serving in the Rhine Province, he joined the division of the general staff in 1846. As li

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The German Headquarters at Versailles, 1870, by Anton von Werner. Leonhardt von Blumenthal standing to the left of the picture

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The Crown Prince of Saxony and the Crown Prince of Prussia. Leonhardt von Blumenthal at left of picture. From a painting by Carl Steffeck

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Leonhardt von Blumenthal next to Bismarck, shaking hands with General von Hartmann at the Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles in 1871. Detail of a painting by Anton von Werner

Otto von Bismarck
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Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg, known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s, he engineered a series of wars that unified the German states, significantly and deliberately excluding Austria, into a powerful German Empir

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Otto von Bismarck

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Bismarck at 21, 1836

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Bismarck at age 32, 1847

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Bismarck with Roon (centre) and Moltke (right), the three leaders of Prussia in the 1860s

Thiers wall
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The Thiers wall was the last of the defensive walls of Paris. It was an enclosure constructed between 1841 and 1844 under a law enacted by the government of the French prime minister and it covered 7,802 hectares, along the boulevards des Maréchaux of today. A sloping area outside the wall, called a glacis, extended outward from the Thiers wall to

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Fortifications near Porte de Versailles, before they were torn down.

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The Poterne des Peupliers ("postern of the poplars") is one of the remains of the Thiers wall

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The porte de Pantin, about 1908

Seine
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The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Source-Seine,30 kilometres northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and it is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea. There are 3

Bavaria
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Bavaria is a free state and one of 16 federal states of Germany. Located in the German southeast with an area of 70,548 square kilometres and its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and, with 12.9 million inhabitants, it is Germanys second most populous state. Munich, Bavarias capital and largest city, is the thir

Illustrated London News
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The Illustrated London News appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the worlds first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, the company continues today as Illustrated London News Ltd, a publishing, content and digital agency in London, which holds the publicati

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Jumbo's Journey to the Docks (The Illustrated London News, 1 April 1882)

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Cover of 20 Feb 1915 issue

Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
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Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.4 km from the centre of Paris, Saint-Denis is a subprefecture of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, being the seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis is home to the necropolis of the Basilica of Saint Denis and was also the location of the associated

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Franco-Prussian War
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The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads. The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I, the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and this new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, in Prussia, some officials considered a war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern princes candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. They also argue that he wanted a war to resolve growing domestic political problems, other historians, notably French historian Pierre Milza, dispute this. According to Milza, the Emperor had no need for a war to increase his popularity, the Ems telegram had exactly the effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull, gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt he had just received a slap. Napoleons new prime minister, Emile Ollivier, declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, a crowd of 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government, the southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made, universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented

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Saint-Cloud
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Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.6 kilometres from the centre of Paris, canonized after his death, the village where his tomb was located took the name of Sanctus Clodoaldus. A park contains the ruins of the Château de Saint-Cloud, built in 1572 and destroyed by fire in 1870, the château was the residence of several French rulers and served as the main country residence of the cadet Orléans line prior to the French Revolution. The palace was also the site of the coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte that overthrew the French Directory in 1799. The town is famous for the Saint-Cloud porcelain produced there from 1693 to 1766. The Headquarters of the International Criminal Police Organization had been located at 22 Rue Armengaud from 1966 until 1989, the main landmarks are the park of the demolished Château de Saint-Cloud and the Pavillon de Breteuil. The Saint-Cloud Racecourse, a track for Thoroughbred flat racing, was built by Edmond Blanc in 1901 and is host to a number of important races including the annual Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Saint-Cloud is served by two stations on the Transilien La Défense and Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail lines, Le Val dOr, the town is also served by a number of stops on the T2 Tramway, which runs along the side of the Seine. Central Saint-Cloud, known as le village, is served by the metro station Boulogne-Pont de Saint-Cloud. Public high schools, Lycée Alexandre-Dumas Lycée Santos-Dumont It is also served by the high school Lycée Jean Pierre Vernant in Sèvres

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German Empire
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The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. After at first attempting to control, causing massive uprisings. This left a republic to manage a devastated and unsatisfied populace, the German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, after being alluded to in Article 6 of the 1814 Treaty of Paris. German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism and he envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany. The war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, the new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871. During the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same

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North German Confederation
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The North German Confederation was a confederation of 22 previously independent states of northern Germany, with nearly 30 million inhabitants. It was the first modern German nation state and the basis for the later German Empire, after several unsuccessful proposals from several sides to reform the German Confederation, the North German major power Prussia left the German Confederation with some allies. It came to war between states on one hand and southern states led by Austria on the other. After a quick decision in the Austro-Prussian War of July 1866, Prussia, at first, it was a military alliance between independent states, the so-called August Alliance, but the states already had the intention to form a federation or confederation with a constitution. The North German Confederation is historically important for the economic and judicial unification of Germany, many of its laws were taken over by the German Empire, the North German Confederation continues as the German nation state which still exists today. On January 1st,1871, the received a new constitution that gave it the name German Empire. In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, the German princes. The sovereignty remained with the individual German states, there were several attempts to create a modern nation state, most prominently in the Revolution of 1848. A major issue in the struggle was the rivalry between Austria, the principal power in Germany, and the ascending Prussia. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 demonstrated the superiority of Prussia, led by its ingenious. The alliance had 15 members then, with 80 percent of the living in Prussia. A notable exclave of the North German Confederation was the Prussian territory of Hohenzollern in the south, hesse-Darmstadt was part of the new Confederation only with its northern part. A South German Confederation, as mentioned in the Peace of Prague, from the beginning the alliance was supposed to become a nation state with a federal constitution. On 15 December 1866, Bismarck presented a proposal to the representatives of the allied governments and their complaints did not seriously alter the proposal. On 7 February 1867, the proposal of the governments was ready. It was the not to impose the new constitution but to stipulate it together with a representation of the people. To this end a parliament was elected on 12 February and this Konstituierender Reichstag accepted the constitution, with relatively minor changes, on 16 April 1867. Then, the state parliaments adopted it, consequently, the first North German Reichstag was elected, the only one during the existence of the North German Confederation

North German Confederation
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First session of the (then still provisional) Reichstag on the 24 February 1867
North German Confederation
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Flag
North German Confederation
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North German 7- kreuzer stamp, 1868

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Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion

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Grand Duchy of Baden
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The Grand Duchy of Baden was a state in the southwest of Germany on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918 and it came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subsequently split into different lines, which were unified in 1771. After World War II, the French military government in 1945 created the state of Baden out of the half of the former Baden. This portion of the former Baden was declared in its 1947 constitution to be the successor of the old Baden. The northern half of the old Baden was combined with northern Württemberg, becoming part of the American military zone, both Baden and Württemberg-Baden became states of West Germany upon its formation in 1949. In 1952 Baden merged with Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern to form Baden-Württemberg and this is the only merger of states that has taken place in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The unofficial anthem of Baden is called Badnerlied and consists of four or five traditional verses, however, over the years, many more verses have been added – there are collections with up to 591 verses of the anthem. Baden came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden, in 1803 Baden was raised to Electoral dignity within the Holy Roman Empire. Upon the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Baden became the much-enlarged Grand Duchy of Baden, in 1815 it joined the German Confederation. During the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, Baden was a centre of revolutionist activities, in 1849, in the course of the Baden Revolution, it was the only German state that became a republic for a short while, under the leadership of Lorenzo Brentano. The revolution in Baden was suppressed mainly by Prussian troops, the Grand Duchy of Baden remained a sovereign country until it joined the German Empire in 1871. After the revolution of 1918, Baden became part of the Weimar Republic as the Republic of Baden, when the French Revolution threatened to overflow into the rest of Europe in 1792, Baden joined forces against France, and its countryside was devastated once more. In 1796, the margrave Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden, was compelled to pay an indemnity, fortune, however, soon returned to his side. Changing sides in 1805, he fought for Napoleon, with the result that, by the peace of Pressburg in that year, he obtained the Breisgau and other territories at the expense of the Habsburgs. In 1806, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine, declared himself a prince, became a grand duke. The Baden contingent continued to assist France, and by the Peace of Vienna in 1809, Charles fought for his father-in-law until after the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, when he joined the Allies. In 1815 Baden became a member of the German Confederation established by the Act of 8 June, however, in the haste of winding up the Congress, the question of the succession to the grand duchy did not get settled, a matter that would soon become acute. A controversy between Bavaria and Baden ensued, which was decided in favour of the Höchberg claims by a treaty signed by Baden

Grand Duchy of Baden
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Karlsruhe Palace, from 1718 residence of the Margraves of Baden-Durlach, from 1806 of the Grand Duchy of Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
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Flag (1891–1918)
Grand Duchy of Baden
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Monument to the Constitution of Baden (and the Grand Duke for granting it), in Rondellplatz, Karlsruhe, Germany

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Kingdom of Bavaria
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The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1805 as Maximilian I Joseph, the crown would go on being held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom came to an end in 1918. Since the end of the kingdom and the empire in 1918, on 30 December 1777, the Bavarian line of the Wittelsbachs became extinct, and the succession on the Electorate of Bavaria passed to Charles Theodore, the Elector Palatine. After a separation of four and a half centuries, the Palatinate, to which the duchies of Jülich, between the French and the Austrians, Bavaria was now in a bad situation. Before the death of Charles Theodore the Austrians had again occupied the country, Maximilian IV Joseph, the new elector, succeeded to a difficult inheritance. By the Treaty of Lunéville Bavaria lost the Palatinate and the duchies of Zweibrücken, the 1805 Peace of Pressburg allowed Maximilian to raise Bavaria to the status of a kingdom. Accordingly, Maximilian proclaimed himself king on 1 January 1806, the King still served as an Elector until Bavaria seceded from the Holy Roman Empire on 1 August 1806. The Duchy of Berg was ceded to Napoleon only in 1806, the new kingdom faced challenges from the outset of its creation, relying on the support of Napoleonic France. The kingdom faced war with Austria in 1808 and from 1810 to 1814, lost territory to Württemberg, Italy, in 1808, all relics of serfdom were abolished, which had left the old empire. In the same year, Maximilian promulgated Bavarias first written constitution, over the next five years, it was amended numerous times in accordance with Paris wishes. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812 about 30,000 Bavarian soldiers were killed in action, on 14 October, Bavaria made a formal declaration of war against Napoleonic France. The treaty was passionately backed by the Crown Prince Ludwig and by Marshal von Wrede, finally in 1816, the Rhenish Palatinate was taken from France in exchange for most of Salzburg which was then ceded to Austria. It was the second largest and second most powerful state south of the Main, in Germany as a whole, it ranked third behind Prussia and Austria. On 1 February 1817, Montgelas had been dismissed, and Bavaria had entered on a new era of constitutional reform, on 26 May 1818, Bavarias second constitution was proclaimed. The Landtag would have two houses, a house comprising the aristocracy and noblemen, including the high-class hereditary landowners, government officials. The second house, a house, would include representatives of small landowners, the towns. The rights of Protestants were safeguarded in the constitution with articles supporting the equality of all religions, the initial constitution almost proved disastrous for the monarchy, with controversies such as the army having to swear allegiance to the new constitution. Within the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Palatinate enjoyed a legal and administrative position

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France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

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French Third Republic
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It came to an end on 10 July 1940. Harsh reparations exacted by the Prussians after the war resulted in the loss of the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine, social upheaval, and the establishment of the Paris Commune. The early governments of the Third Republic considered re-establishing the monarchy, but confusion as to the nature of that monarchy, thus, the Third Republic, which was originally intended as a provisional government, instead became the permanent government of France. The French Constitutional Laws of 1875 defined the composition of the Third Republic and it consisted of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate to form the legislative branch of government and a president to serve as head of state. The period from the start of World War I to the late 1930s featured sharply polarized politics, Adolphe Thiers called republicanism in the 1870s the form of government that divides France least, however, politics under the Third Republic were sharply polarized. On the left stood Reformist France, heir to the French Revolution, on the right stood conservative France, rooted in the peasantry, the Roman Catholic Church and the army. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 resulted in the defeat of France, after Napoleons capture by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan, Parisian deputies led by Léon Gambetta established the Government of National Defence as a provisional government on 4 September 1870. The deputies then selected General Louis-Jules Trochu to serve as its president and this first government of the Third Republic ruled during the Siege of Paris. After the French surrender in January 1871, the provisional Government of National Defence disbanded, French territories occupied by Prussia at this time did not participate. The resulting conservative National Assembly elected Adolphe Thiers as head of a provisional government, due to the revolutionary and left-wing political climate that prevailed in the Parisian population, the right-wing government chose the royal palace of Versailles as its headquarters. The new government negotiated a settlement with the newly proclaimed German Empire. To prompt the Prussians to leave France, the government passed a variety of laws, such as the controversial Law of Maturities. The following repression of the communards would have consequences for the labor movement. The Orléanists supported a descendant of King Louis Philippe I, the cousin of Charles X who replaced him as the French monarch in 1830, his grandson Louis-Philippe, Comte de Paris. The Bonapartists were marginalized due to the defeat of Napoléon III and were unable to advance the candidacy of any member of his family, the Bonaparte family. Legitimists and Orléanists came to a compromise, eventually, whereby the childless Comte de Chambord would be recognised as king, consequently, in 1871 the throne was offered to the Comte de Chambord. Chambord believed the monarchy had to eliminate all traces of the Revolution in order to restore the unity between the monarchy and the nation, which the revolution had sundered apart. Compromise on this was if the nation were to be made whole again

French Third Republic
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A French propaganda poster from 1917 is captioned with an 18th century quote: "Even in 1788, Mirabeau was saying that War is the National Industry of Prussia."
French Third Republic
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Flag
French Third Republic
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The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was built as a symbol of the Ordre Moral.
French Third Republic
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In France, children were taught in school not to forget the lost provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, which were coloured in black on maps.

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Wilhelm I, German Emperor
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William I, or in German Wilhelm I, of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor, as well as the first Head of State of a united Germany. Under the leadership of William and his Minister President Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. Contrary to the domineering Bismarck, William was described as polite, gentlemanly and, while a staunch conservative, the future king and emperor was born William Frederick Louis of Prussia in the Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin on 22 March 1797. As the second son of Prince Frederick William, himself son of King Frederick William II and his grandfather died the year he was born, at age 53, in 1797, and his father Frederick William III became king. He was educated from 1801 to 1809 by Johann Friedrich Gottlieb Delbrück, who was also in charge of the education of Williams brother, at age twelve, his father appointed him an officer in the Prussian army. William served in the army from 1814 onward, like his father he fought against Napoleon I of France during the part of the Napoleonic Wars known in Germany as the Befreiungskriege, and was reportedly a very brave soldier. He was made a Captain and won the Iron Cross for his actions at Bar-sur-Aube, the war and the fight against France left a lifelong impression on him, and he had a long-standing antipathy towards the French. In 1815, William was promoted to Major and commanded a battalion of the 1 and he fought under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battles of Ligny and Waterloo. He also became an excellent diplomat by engaging in diplomatic missions after 1815, in 1816, William became the commander of the Stettiner Gardelandwehrbataillon and in 1818 was promoted to Generalmajor. The next year, William was appointed inspector of the VII. and this made him a spokesman of the Prussian Army within the House of Hohenzollern. He argued in favour of a strong, well-trained and well-equipped army, in 1820, William became commander of the 1. Gardedivision and in 1825 was promoted to commanding general of the III, in 1829, William married Princess Augusta von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach after Princess Elisa Radziwill, his cousin whom he had been attracted to, was deemed an inappropriate match by his father. William had been forced to abandon the relationship with Elisa in 1826, Augusta was the daughter of Grand Duke Karl Friedrich von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach. Their marriage was stable, but not a very happy one. In 1840 his older brother became King of Prussia, since he had no children, William was first in line to succeed him to the throne and thus was given the title Prinz von Preußen. Against his convictions but out of loyalty towards his brother, in 1847 William signed the bill setting up a Prussian parliament and took a seat in the upper chamber, the Herrenhaus. During the Revolutions of 1848, William successfully crushed a revolt in Berlin that was aimed at his elder brother, the use of cannon made him unpopular at the time and earned him the nickname Kartätschenprinz. Indeed, he had to flee to England for a while and he returned and helped to put down an uprising in Baden, where he commanded the Prussian army

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Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
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Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field. He is often referred to as Moltke the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke, Moltke was born in Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, son of the Danish Generalleutnant Friedrich Philipp Victor von Moltke. Young Moltke therefore grew up under difficult circumstances, at nine he was sent as a boarder to Hohenfelde in Holstein, and at age twelve went to the cadet school at Copenhagen, being destined for the Danish army and court. In 1818 he became a page to the king of Denmark, at twenty-one Moltke resolved to enter the Swedish service, in spite of the loss of seniority. In 1822 he became a lieutenant in the 8th Infantry Regiment stationed at Frankfurt. At twenty-three, he was allowed to enter the war school. For a year Moltke had charge of a school at Frankfurt an der Oder. In 1832 he was seconded for service on the staff at Berlin. He was at this time regarded as a brilliant officer by his superiors, including Prince William, max Boot says of Moltke in his War Made New, Moltke loved music, poetry, art, archaeology, and theater. He was a prolific artist who filled sketchbooks with landscapes and portraits, as well as a popular author. For all his catholicity of interests and he was a nationalist to the core who was appalled by the liberal revolutions that swept Europe on 1848. He placed his faith in the king and the forces of the old regime, Moltke was well received at court and in the best society of Berlin. His tastes inclined him to literature, to study and to travel. In 1827 he had published a romance, The Two Friends. In 1831 he wrote an essay entitled Holland and Belgium in their Mutual Relations, a year later he wrote An Account of the Internal Circumstances and Social Conditions of Poland, a study based both on reading and on personal observation of Polish life and character. In eighteen months he had finished nine volumes out of twelve, in 1835 on his promotion as captain, Moltke obtained six months leave to travel in south-Eastern Europe. After a short stay in Constantinople he was requested by the Sultan Mahmud II to help modernize the Ottoman Empire army and he remained two years at Constantinople, learned Turkish and surveyed the city of Constantinople, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. He travelled through Wallachia, Bulgaria and Rumelia, and made other journeys on both sides of the Strait

12.
Louis Jules Trochu
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Louis Jules Trochu was a French military leader and politician. He served as President of the Government of National Defense—Frances de facto head of state—from 4 September 1870 until his resignation on 22 January 1871, Trochu was born at Le Palais. Educated at St. Cyr, he received a commission in the Staff Corps in 1837, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1840 and he was promoted to major in 1845, and to colonel in 1853. He again distinguished himself in command of a division in the Italian campaign of 1859 and this brochure brought him into bad odour at court, and he left the war office on half-pay and was refused a command in the field at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. Trochu worked energetically to put Paris in a state of defence, at the revolution of 4 September he became president of the Government of National Defence, in addition to his other offices. He was elected to the National Assembly by eight Départements, in October he was elected president of the council general for Morbihan. In July 1872 he retired from life and in 1873 from the army

Louis Jules Trochu
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Louis Jules Trochu
Louis Jules Trochu
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1871 caricature showing Napoleon III dressed as a monk and Louis Jules Trochu dressed as a member of the clergy, tied to a post labeled "L'homme de Sedan. L'homme de Paris." Both men were held responsible for the French defeat which ended the Franco-Prussian War.
Louis Jules Trochu
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First Republic (1792–1804)

13.
Joseph Vinoy
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Joseph Vinoy was a French soldier. He originally intended to join the Church, but, after years at a seminary, he decided upon a military career. As a sergeant in the 14th line infantry, he took part in the Algerian expedition of 1830 and he won his commission at the capture of Algiers and during the subsequent campaigns rose to the rank of Colonel. He returned to France in 1850, in the Crimean War, he served under François Certain Canrobert as general of brigade. For his brilliant conduct at the Battle of Malakoff in 1855 he was promoted to General of division and he later led a division of Adolphe Niels corps in the Battle of Solférino. Retired on account of his age in 1865, he was recalled to service on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. After the early reverses he was head of the XIII army corps. By a skilful retreat he brought his corps intact to Paris on September 7, during the Siege of Paris, Vinoy commanded the III army operating on the south side of the capital and took part in all the actions in that quarter. On Louis Jules Trochus resignation he was appointed to the supreme command, during the Paris Commune, he held important commands in the army of Versailles, occupying the burning Tuileries and the Louvre on May 23,1871. He was subsequently made a Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour, Vinoy wrote several memoirs of the Franco-Prussian War, Operations de larmée pendant le siege de Paris, LArmistice et la commune, and LArmée française. The Municipality of Vinoy in Quebec, Canada, was named in his honour and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Anonymous

Joseph Vinoy
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Joseph Vinoy

14.
Surrender (military)
–
Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully, without fighting, or it may be the result of defeat in battle, a sovereign state may surrender following defeat in a war, usually by signing a peace treaty or capitulation agreement. A battlefield surrender, either by individuals or when ordered by officers, normally, a surrender will involve the handing over of weapons, the commanding officer of a surrendering force symbolically offers his sword to the victorious commander. Flags and ensigns are hauled down or furled, and ships colors are struck or the raising of a flag to the masts signals a surrender. When the parties agree to terms, the surrender may be conditional, that is, the leaders of the surrendering group negotiate privileges or compensation for the time, expense and loss of life saved by the victor through the stopping of resistance. Alternatively, in a surrender at discretion, the victor makes no promises of treatment, an early example of a military surrender is the defeat of Carthage by the Roman Empire at the end of the Second Punic War. Over time, generally accepted laws and customs of war have developed for such a situation, most of which are laid out in the Hague Convention of 1907. Normally, a belligerent will agree to surrender only if completely incapable of continuing hostilities. Traditionally, a ceremony was accompanied by the honors of war. The Third Geneva Convention states that prisoners of war should not be mistreated or abused, US Army policy, for example, requires that surrendered persons should be secured and safeguarded while being evacuated from the battlefield. While not a military law, the Code of the US Fighting Force disallows surrender unless all reasonable means of resistance exhausted. Certain death the only alternative, the Code states, I will never surrender of my own free will, if in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist. False surrender is a type of perfidy in the context of war and it is a war crime under Protocol I of the Geneva Convention. False surrenders are usually used to draw the enemy out of cover to attack them off guard, accounts of false surrender can be found relatively frequently throughout history. One of the more infamous examples was the false surrender of British troops at Kilmichael. Capitulation, an agreement in time of war for the surrender to an armed force of a particular body of troops. Debellatio occurs when a war ends because of the destruction of a belligerent state. No quarter occurs when a victor shows no clemency or mercy, under the laws of war, it is especially forbidden

15.
Garde Mobile
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The Garde mobile was intended to be the body which would in effect conscript all who had been able to avoid military service. The Garde would also take in all conscripts on completion of their army service, napoleon III took up the idea and announced on 12 December 1866 that the Garde Mobile would eventually attain a strength of 400,000 troops. Its members were known as Moblots. Although there was conscription into the army, not only was it not universal, both the left and the right in the Corps Legislatif took issue with the proposal. The right wanted an army, the left were opposed to Bonapartist militarism. Hence not much money was spent for the equipment or training of the Garde Mobile and its authority to conscript was also diminished. Servicemen were trained fourteen days per year, each one not followed by another and this service was not even permitted to deploy beyond the local areas of which the units were formed, thus, they were hardly mobile. The Garde Mobile had different uniforms from those of either the regular infantry and they did not get the excellent French Chassepot rifle

16.
Battle of Villiers
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The Battle of Villiers, also called the Battle of Champigny, was the largest of the French sorties from besieged Paris during the Franco–Prussian War. After news reached Paris of the French defeat at the battle of Le Bourget, attempting to counter the grim mood, General Louis Jules Trochu decided to attempt a breakout which could possibly link up with the French Army of the Loire. On 30 November Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot led 80,000 men towards the villages of Champigny and this section of the German lines was held by the Württemberg Division of the Prussian 3rd Army. On the 29th the Marne had flooded and a French reconnaissance attack turned into a disaster,1,300 troops were lost, the main attack was to come the next day followed by a series of diversionary attacks. French artillery drove German advance units from the villages of Bry and Champigny, Ducrot established a bridgehead on the opposite bank of the river at the two villages and advanced up a plateau towards Villiers. The Württemberg Division was so entrenched that the French artillery did little to dislodge them. Ducrot called on his III Corps, which had crossed the Marne north of Brie, the III Corps hesitated too long for an attack to be of any use and now Ducrot was fighting a defensive battle. Helmuth von Moltke, the Chief of Staff, was annoyed with the lack of energy which Albert of Saxony, von Moltke ordered General Eduard von Fransecky to move with his II Corps to the threatened area and assume command of all operations there. Fransecky however, had not been notified in time to do anything about the fight on the 30th, the two armies called a truce and buried their dead on 1 December. The Germans faced a situation to the battle of Le Bourget on 2 December. Fransecky did not feel that a counterattack was necessary since the main German line had not been broken yet, Albert pushed for a counterattack anyway, franseckys attack was so rapid that it quickly took Champigny. The French then rallied and a stalemate ensued for the rest of the day, the situation worried von Moltke enough to cause him to draw up plans in case the French renewed their attack the following day and succeeded in breaking through. However, Ducrot had no intention of renewing the fight and his troops had suffered greatly in the cold and even though he received word that the Army of the Loire was moving towards Paris, he withdrew back into Paris by 4 December. The fighting had been costly for both sides, the French had lost over 9,000 troops while the Germans lost over 3,000. The Army of the Loire was defeated at the Battle of Orléans and Ducrot urged Tochu, the Franco-Prussian War, The German Invasion of France, 1870–1871

Battle of Villiers
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Battle of Champigny by Édouard Detaille
Battle of Villiers
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A map of the positions of the forces at 3:30 pm on 30 November
Battle of Villiers
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Le fond de la Giberne, 1882, by Alphonse de Neuville. A dying French infantryman gives his last cartridges to a clairon

17.
Battle of Buzenval (1870)
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The Battle of Buzenval, part of the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The besieged troops in Paris, under the orders of General Louis Trochu, made a sortie in the direction of Versailles. The second group, commanded by General Noël, had 1,350 infantry and 10 cannons to operate in the south coast of Malmaison Park, one on the left, under orders of General Martenot, with 2,600 infantry and 18 cannons. One in the center, commanded by General Paturel, with 2,000 infantry,28 cannons, at 1pm the French military opened fire down the line concentrating for 3 quarters of an hour on Buzenval, Malmaison, Jonchere, and Bougival. Around 5 pm, the night arrived and the fire ceased everywhere, in the main, the column of General Martenot was a diversion on the left. A battalion settled on the farm of Fouilleuse, and skirmishers pushed up the ridges, even for a moment holding the redoubt Montretout and heights of Garches. On the right, the 6th Dragoon Regiment, supported by a battery, was carried in the direction of the Seine between Argenteuil Bezons and fired cannons upon some Prussian positions. During the sortie, the batteries of commander Miribel, particularly the 4th battery of captain Nismes, the incident, known as Defense of the gate of Longboyau, consisted of the French and Prussians fighting at close range through the bars of the gate. In the fighting, the French lost the commander of the company,10 cannoniers. General losses of the French for 21 October 1870 Officers,2 dead,15 wounded, soldiers,30 dead,230 wounded, and 153 missing

Battle of Buzenval (1870)
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Defence of Longboyau's gate, château of Buzenval, October 21st 1870; painted by Alphonse de Neuville

18.
Battle of Wissembourg (1870)
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The Battle of Wissembourg or Battle of Weissenburg, the first of the Franco-Prussian War, was joined when three German army corps surprised the small French garrison at Wissembourg on August 4,1870. The defenders, greatly outnumbered, fought stubbornly, in June,1870 Napoleon III had moved the French army into Lorraine and occupied Saarbrücken. Napoleon wished to win a significant battle on German soil and ordered Marshal Patrice Mac-Mahon to bring up the French I and V Corps, Mac-Mahons objective was to reach Wissembourg where he already had one division stationed under General Abel Douay. Once there he would concentrate his forces for a strike into Germany, the German III Army under Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and his able Chief of Staff, General von Blumenthal, was already moving towards Wissembourg. Neither side was aware of the others movements. At the outbreak of war, General Ducrot, commanding the 6th French Division at Strasbourg, the sub-prefect of Wissembourg protested this decision, not sharing Ducrots doubts on the wisdom of diluting the 6th division along the German frontier. The 1st Cavalry Brigade would patrol the frontier east of Wissembourg up to Schleithal, Ducrots familiarity with the terrain earned him the responsibility of overseeing the deployment of the various units in the area, including Douays 1st Division. Finally, Douay was to relieve the 96th infantry regiment in the village of Climbach, at this point Ducrot received gravely flawed intelligence. General Frossard, without instructions, hastily withdrew the elements of Army of the Rhine in Saarbrücken back to Spicheren, Marshal MacMahon, now closest to Wissembourg, spread his four divisions over 20 miles to react to any Prussian invasion. This organization of forces was due to a lack of supplies, what made a bad situation much worse was the conduct of General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, commander of the 1st Division. Two days later, he told MacMahon that he had not found and it looks to me as if the menace of the Bavarians is simply bluff. Even though Ducrot shrugged off the possibility of an attack by the Germans, MacMahon tried to warn the other divisions of his army, without success. During the day, elements of a Bavarian and two Prussian corps became engaged and were aided by Prussian artillery, which blasted holes in the defenses of the town. Douay held a strong position initially, thanks to the accurate long-range fire of the Chassepots. Douay was killed in the morning when a caisson of the divisional mitrailleuse battery exploded near him. The fighting within the town had become extremely intense, becoming a door to battle of survival. Despite a never-ending attack of Prussian infantry, the soldiers of the 2nd Division kept to their positions, the people of the town of Wissembourg finally surrendered to the Germans. The French troops who did not surrender retreated westward, leaving behind 1,000 dead and wounded and another 1,000 prisoners, the final attack by the Prussian troops also cost c. 1,000 casualties

Battle of Wissembourg (1870)
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The 5th Royal Bavarian Regiment at the battle of Wissembourg, 1870.
Battle of Wissembourg (1870)
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Map of the Battle of Wissembourg
Battle of Wissembourg (1870)
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Crown Prince Frederick Wilhelm contemplating the corpse of French general Abel Douay, by Anton von Werner (1888)

19.
Battle of Spicheren
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The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the Battle of Forbach, was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz, the Battle of Spicheren, on 5 August, was the second of three critical French defeats. The aging General von Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move and he moved straight toward the town of Spicheren, cutting off Prince Frederick Charles from his forward cavalry units in the process. Moltke was pressing on with the concentration of the Prussian armies and his forces now formed two wings. On the French side, planning after the disaster at Wissembourg had become essential, General Le Bœuf, flushed with anger, was intent upon going on the offensive over the Saar and countering their loss. Therefore, the armies of France would take up a position that would protect against every possible attack point. The aging General Karl von Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move, leading the I army south from his position on the Moselle, he moved straight toward the town of Spicheren, cutting off Prince Frederick Charles from his forward cavalry units in the process. Frossard distributed his corps as follows, holding the right and centre was the division of General Laveaucoupet, deployed along the heights, on the left General Charles Nicolas Vergé’s division occupied Stiring and the Forbach valley. General Bataille’s division was back in reserve around Spicheren, in all, counting the corps cavalry and artillery. While the French army under General MacMahon engaged the German 3rd Army at the Battle of Wörth and he ordered a full attack, committing the 74th and the 39th Regiments of the 27th Brigade under Gen. Bruno von François into the walls of hills running between Spicheren and Forbach. The French were unaware of German numerical superiority at the beginning of the battle as the German 2nd Army did not attack all at once, treating the oncoming attacks as merely skirmishes, Frossard did not request additional support from other units. By the time he realized what kind of a force he was opposing, françoiss attack had stopped cold by one oclock. He would sit and wait for reinforcements, wondering all the while just how many French were in front of him, kamekes 28th Brigade under Wilhelm von Woyna would arrive in the afternoon and bring the battle back to life again, but the Prussian attacks would again be repulsed. Gen. Laveaucoupets 40th Regiment pushed back François badly demoralized surviving troops while Gen. Charles Vergés 2nd Brigade attacked Woynas troops and he assumed overall command and immediately began assessing the situation. Drawn by the sound of battle, more and more Prussian troops kept appearing on the battlefield, alvensleben decided to attack Frossards left flank. If Frossard had pursued these counter-attacks he might have won the battle, but because the reserves had not arrived, Frossard erroneously believed that he was in grave danger of being outflanked as German soldiers under General Adolf von Glümer were spotted in Forbach. Glümers 13th Division had cut the road near Emmersweiler and was laying artillery fire on the railroads. Frossard stopped his successful attack and around 7pm he wired to his superior that he would have to take his forces back to the heights to avoid being flanked, with a combination of overlapping infantry and artillery attacks, the Prussians were able to roll the flank

Battle of Spicheren
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Map of Prussian and German offensive, 5–6 August 1870
Battle of Spicheren
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French and German positions at 6 PM on 6 August 1870
Battle of Spicheren
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Anton von Werner's Assault on the heights of Spicheren showing General François's last charge
Battle of Spicheren
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German memorial for the Lower Rhineian Fusilier Regiment No. 39

20.
Siege of Strasbourg
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The Siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870. After the Battle of Wörth, Crown Prince Frederick detached General August von Werder to move south against the fortress of Strasbourg, at the time, Strasbourg was considered to be one of the strongest fortresses in France. Werders force was made up of 40,000 troops from Württemberg and Baden, the French garrison of 17,000 was under the command of the 68-year-old General Jean Jacques Alexis Uhrich. Werder understood the value of capturing the city, and ruled out a siege of starvation. He instead decided on an action, bombarding the fortifications. On 23 August Werders siege guns opened fire on the city and caused damage to the city. The Bishop of Strasbourg went to Werder to beg for a ceasefire, Uhrich refused to relent, and soon enough Werder realized he could not keep up such a bombardment with the amount of ammunition he had. Werder continued bombing the city, this time targeting selected fortifications, the German siege lines moved rapidly closer to the city as each fortress was turned into rubble. On 11 September, a delegation of Swiss officials went into the city to evacuate non-combatants and this delegation brought in news of the defeat of the French at the Battle of Sedan, which meant no relief was coming to Strasbourg. On 19 September the remaining civilians urged Uhrich to surrender the city, however, that same day Werder stormed and captured the first of the citys fortifications. This event caused Uhrich to reconsider his ability to defend the city, on 27 September Uhrich opened negotiations with Werder, and the city surrendered the following day. The fall of Strasbourg freed Werders forces for operations in northeastern France. His next move was against the city of Belfort, which was invested in November

Siege of Strasbourg
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Strasbourg in ruins after the siege

21.
Battle of Mars-la-Tour
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The Battle of Mars-La-Tour was fought on 16 August 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, near the town of Mars-La-Tour in northeast France. Two Prussian corps encountered the entire French Army of the Rhine in an engagement and. A cavalry patrol, the 1st Squadron of 1st Hanoverian Dragoon Regiment No and they located the French Army near Vionville, east of Mars-la-Tour. Despite being outnumbered more than four to one, III Corps routed the French and captured Vionville, once prevented from retreat, the French inside Metz had no choice but to fight a battle that would see the last major cavalry engagement in Western Europe. On 16 August 1870, the French could have swept away the key Prussian defense, two Prussian corps attacked the French advance guard, believing that it was the rearguard of the retreat of the French Army of the Meuse. Despite this misjudgment, the two Prussian corps held the entire French army for the whole day, the extraordinary confidence and tenacity of the Prussians prevailed over Bazaines gross indecision. This was a battle, where the individual unit commanders. Desperate street fighting ensued in the town, with losses for both sides. Prussian infantry tried to overrun the French positions, but the French held them off, the Prussians were outnumbered four to one, but Bazaine never recognized this fact. He failed to send in his force, while the Prussians committed every man. With the invaluable advantage of immense self-confidence, the Prussians held on, the Battle of Mars-La-Tour is also notable for one of the very last successful cavalry charges of modern warfare. Noting that it will cost what it will, von Bredow took his time to organize the brigade, consisting of the 7th Cuirassiers, 19th Dragoons, and 16th Uhlans. Having silenced the French artillery, neutralized the French cavalry, and panicked the French infantry, von Bredows brigade managed to extricate itself, of the 800 horsemen who had started out, only 420 returned. Among the wounded from the 12th Brigade was Lieutenant Herbert von Bismarck, the battle was a strategic victory for the Prussians. Bazaine had failed to make it to Verdun, in a short time, the Prussians trapped Bazaine in the city, and the siege of Metz ensued. Von Bredows death ride was perhaps the last successful cavalry charge in Western European warfare, hornchurch Wargames Club Official Home Page. Der Deutsch- Französische Krieg/The German- French War 1870 /1871, archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Comptons Home Library, Battles of the World CD-ROM

Battle of Mars-la-Tour
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Von Bredow's Death Ride - the Prussian 7th Cuirassiers charge the French guns at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour
Battle of Mars-la-Tour
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An 1895 map of the battle
Battle of Mars-la-Tour
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The 16th Uhlans charge the French lines

22.
Battle of Gravelotte
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The Battle of Gravelotte on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle during the Franco-Prussian War, named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier. The battlefield extended from the woods border the Moselle above Metz to Roncourt. Other villages which played an important part in the battle of Gravelotte were Saint Privat, Amanweiler or Amanvillers and Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes, the combined German forces, under Field Marshal von Moltke, were the Prussian First and Second Armies of the North German Confederation. The French Army of the Rhine, commanded by Marshal Bazaine, dug in along high ground with their left flank at the town of Rozerieulles. On 18 August, the battle began when at 08,00 Moltke ordered the First, by 12,00, General Manstein opened up the battle before the village of Amanvillers with artillery from the Hessian 25th Infantry Division. But the French had spent the night and early morning digging trenches and rifle pits while placing their artillery, finally aware of the Prussian advance, the French opened up a massive return fire against the mass of advancing Germans. The battle at first appeared to favor the French with their superior Chassepot rifle, however, the Prussian artillery was superior with the all-steel Krupp breech-loading gun. At 15,00, the guns of the VII and VIII Corps opened fire to support the attack. But by 16,00, with the attack in danger of stalling, Steinmetz ordered the VII Corps forward, at 17,15, the Prussian 4th Guards Infantry Brigade joined the advance followed at 17,45 by the Prussian 1st Guards Infantry Brigade. All of the Prussian Guard attacks were pinned down by lethal French gunfire from the rifle pits, by 18,30, a considerable portion of the VII and VIII Corps disengaged from the fighting and withdrew towards the Prussian positions at Rezonville. With the defeat of the First Army, Prince Frederick Charles ordered an artillery attack against Canroberts position at St. Privat to prevent the Guards attack from failing too. At 20,00, the arrival of the Prussian 4th Infantry Division of the II Corps and with the Prussian right flank on Mance Ravine, the line stabilised. By then, the Prussians of the 1st Guards Infantry Division, with the Prussians exhausted from the fighting, the French were now able to mount a counter-attack. General Bourbaki, however, refused to commit the reserves of the French Old Guard to the battle because, by that time, by 22,00, firing largely died down across the battlefield for the night. The battle was a Prussian and Hessian strategic victory in that it succeeded in blocking Bazaines way to Verdun, in a short time the Prussians trapped Bazaine in the city and the siege of Metz ensued. The casualties were severe, especially for the attacking Prussian forces, casualties for the combined Prussian and Hessian force were 20,163 troops killed, wounded or missing in action during the 18 August battle. The French losses were 7,855 killed and wounded along with 4,420 prisoners of war, while most of the Prussians fell to the French Chassepot rifle, most French fell under the Prussian Krupp shells. Losses of the Prussian Guards Corps were even more staggering, with 8,000 casualties out of 18,000 men, the Guards Jäger Battalion lost 19 officers, a surgeon and 431 men killed, wounded, or missing out of a total of 700

23.
Siege of Metz (1870)
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The Siege of Metz lasting from 19 August –27 October 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a decisive Prussian victory. After being held at the Battle of Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaine retreated into the defenses of Metz, there he was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies on 19 August. The French attempted to break the siege first at Noisseville and again at Bellevue but were repulsed each time, napoleon III and MacMahon formed the new French Army of Châlons, to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine. Napoleon III personally led the army with Marshal MacMahon in attendance, the Army of Châlons marched north-east towards the Belgian border to avoid the Prussians before striking south to link up with Bazaine. The Prussians, under the command of Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke and he left the Prussian First and Second Armies besieging Metz, except three corps detached to form the Army of the Meuse under the Crown Prince of Saxony. With this army and the Prussian Third Army, Moltke marched northward, after a sharp fight in which they lost 5,000 men and 40 cannons, the French withdrew toward Sedan. Having reformed in the town, the Army of Châlons was immediately isolated by the converging Prussian armies, napoleon III ordered the army to break out of the encirclement immediately. With MacMahon wounded on the day, General Auguste Ducrot took command of the French troops in the field. The Army of Châlons was trapped and destroyed at the Battle of Sedan, Bazaine was forced to surrender his entire army on 27 October because of starvation. The Prussians offered the honors of war to the defeated French army, Prince Prince Friedrich Karl and the Prussian Second Army were now free to move against the French force in the Loire River area. The siege is commemorated by the Siegesmarsch von Metz which uses parts of the Die Wacht am Rhein, one notable figure present on the Prussian side was the prominent philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who served as a medical attendant. Nietzsche contracted both diphtheria and dysentery during the siege, worsening his already poor state of health

Siege of Metz (1870)
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The Surrender of the French Army at Metz
Siege of Metz (1870)
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Franco–Prussian war of 1870. Defence of Metz by the French Army.

24.
Battle of Bazeilles
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It took place in Bazeilles, France, a small village in the department of Ardennes near Sedan, and involved a force of Bavarian soldiers battling against French marines and partisans. The battle was, in effect, an ambush of the Bavarians, by a detachment of the Blue Division Troupes de marine. Marsouin snipers, along with local guerrillas, fired on the Bavarian troops using quick-firing Chassepot breech-loading rifles, although outnumbered ten to one, the French held the village until Napoleon III gave orders to withdraw. A small group under commander Arsene Lambert remained in the last house on the road to Sedan, after seven hours of conflict, the Bavarian troops took the village, and the captured Franc-tireur partisans, along with other civilians who were considered unlawful combatants, were later executed. Later that same day, France suffered crushing defeats at the Battle of Sedan where Napoleon III, coupled with the loss of another French army at Metz, these battles effectively ended Napoleon IIIs Empire, ushering in the Third Republic. For several months, people of the new republic saw continued partisan warfare, General de Vassoigne famously remarked on the French soldiers involved in the battle, The troupes de marine fought beyond the extreme limits of duty. The anniversary of the Battle of Bazeilles is now celebrated by the Troupes de marine, the Bavarian vanguard had prevented the demolition of the railroad bridge south of Bazeilles the previous day, encountering fierce resistance in the pursuit of their enemy. That evening they retired to the north of the Meuse. The following night the French army secured Bazeilles with infantry and Marines of the Blue Division and they were tasked with defending the place to the last shot. Roads and houses were barricaded for defense, the Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke was still leading troops up to the front-line at the time. Due to poor visibility, the Bavarian units quickly suffered heavy casualties during the attack, continued troop reinforcements resulted in continued battle-readiness among the 1st and 2nd divisions at 9,00 AM. At 11,00 AM, the French began to withdraw as the area between Bazeilles and Sedan could no longer be held, during the battle, French civilians actively participated by firing on Bavarian troops and tending to the wounded. Angered by the casualties the civilians inflicted, the Bavarian soldiers killed many of them, by midday, the whole village was on fire. The French army suffered 2,655 casualties, the Bavarian army lost 213 officers and 3,876 men. Although French propaganda showed massacres of men, women and children, an additional 150 people died from injuries in the subsequent months. The battle for Bazeilles was a day for the Bavarian army, General Carl Von Helvig deemed it a bloody contribution to the Bavarian military honor. For many military artists and illustrators of the late 19th century, michael Zeno Diemer described it in 1896, resulting in a panorama depicting the struggle for Bazeilles. It was shown in a building in Mannheim, anton von Werner featured it in his 1883 Sedan panorama on Alexanderplatz in Berlin

Battle of Bazeilles
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Alphonse de Neuville, Les dernnieres cartouches (The Last Cartridges)
Battle of Bazeilles
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Photogravure of Bazeilles (1870) by François Lafon.
Battle of Bazeilles
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Das Blutbad in Bazeilles. Bavarian troops were ambushed by French marines hiding in a house

25.
Battle of Sedan
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The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco–Prussian War on 1 September 1870. Marshal MacMahon was wounded during the attacks and command passed to General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, after its defeat at Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaines Army of the Rhine retreated to Metz where it was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies. Emperor Napoleon III, along with Marshal MacMahon, formed the new French Army of Châlons to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine. The Prussians had repeatedly outmaneuvered the French in the string of victories through August 1870, the Prussians, under the command of von Moltke, took advantage of this maneuver to catch the French in a pincer grip. After a hard-fought battle with the French losing 5,000 men and 40 cannons in a sharp fight, the French withdrew towards Sedan. Their intention was to rest the army, which had involved in a long series of marches, resupply them with ammunition and then retreat. Having reformed in Sedan, the Army of Châlons deployed the First Corps to check the Prussian advance and they could not retreat owing to the exhaustion of their troops, and they were short on ammunition. The French rear was protected by the Fortress of Sedan, and offered a position at Calvaire dIlly. Moltke divided his forces into three groups, one to detain the French where they were, another to race forward and catch them if they retreated, the French were unable to move and had to fight where they stood. The Prussians thus encircled the French, Napoleon had ordered MacMahon to break out of the encirclement, and the only point where that seemed possible was La Moncelle, whose flank was protected by a fortified town. The Prussians also picked La Moncelle as one point where they would mount a breakthrough, prince George of Saxony and the Prussian XI Corps was assigned to the task, and General Baron von der Tann were ordered to attack Bazeilles on the right flank. This was the engagement, as the French First Corps had barricaded the streets. Von der Tann sent a brigade across pontoon bridges at 0400 hours, the combat drew new forces, as French brigades from the First, Fifth, and Twelfth Corps arrived. At 0800 the Prussian 8th Infantry Division arrived, and von der Tann decided it was time for a decisive attack. He had not been able to bring artillery to bear from long range, so he committed his last brigade to storm the town and his artillery reached Bazeilles at 0900 hours. Fighting began in earnest at 0600, and the wounded MacMahon had appointed General Auguste Ducrot to command, Wimpffen then threw his forces against the Saxons at La Moncelle. This led to a rally for the French, who drove back the artillery around La Moncelle and pressed the Bavarians. However, with the taking of Bazeilles, and the arrival of waves of Prussian troops

Battle of Sedan
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Battle of Sedan
Battle of Sedan
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A mural painted in 1884 by Carl Steffeck depicts General Reille delivering Napoleon's letter of surrender to King William I at the Battle of Sedan in September 1870. It was at the former Ruhmeshalle in Berlin and was destroyed by bombs during World War II
Battle of Sedan
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Napoleon III surrenders his sword
Battle of Sedan
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Napoleon III having a conversation with Bismarck after being captured in the Battle of Sedan (1878 painting by Wilhelm Camphausen)

26.
Battle of Coulmiers
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The Battle of Coulmiers was fought on November 9,1870 between French and Bavarian forces during the Franco-Prussian War, ending in French victory. The Army of the Loire, under General DAurelle de Paladines, surprised a Bavarian army under Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen at the village of Coulmiers, forcing the Bavarian forces into retreating from the battlefield led to one of the very few French victories in the war. At the same time, the Army of the Loire stopped its march towards Paris, conforming to the wishes of General DAurelle, despite an urging Léon Gambetta, Aurelles locked himself into Orleans. Coulmierss victory would not be exploited and reinforced German troops would eventually retake Orleans, colonel Rousset, Histoire générale de la Guerre franco-allemande, tome 2, édition Jules Tallandier, Paris

27.
Battle of Havana (1870)
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The Battle of Havana on 9 November 1870 was a single ship action between the German gunboat Meteor and the French aviso Bouvet off the coast of Havana, Cuba during the Franco-Prussian War. At 8 a. m. on November 7 the Meteor arrived in Havana harbour after leaving Nassau some days before, an hour later the French aviso Bouvet arrived from Martinique, steaming in from the opposite direction. The next day the French mail steamer SS Nouveau Monde left the harbour for Veracruz but was forced to return a few hours due to fears that she would be captured by the Prussian gunboat. Later that day the Meteors captain, issued a challenge to the captain of the Bouvet to fight a battle the next day. The Bouvet accepted and steamed out of the harbour to wait for the Meteor, the Meteor had to wait 24 hours before it could meet the French vessel due to neutrality laws, since Spain was a neutral country during the conflict. Upon the end of the 24-hour waiting period, the Meteor steamed out to meet the Bouvet which had been waiting 10 miles off the border of the Cuban territorial sea, as soon as Meteor had passed the border line, Bouvet opened fire on the German gunboat. Neither ship was disabled, mostly suffering damage to masts and rigging. The battle was not considered significant by commentators of the day, the Atlantic Duel, The New York Times. The Naval Duel Near Havana, Otago Witness, Issue 996,31 December 1870

Battle of Havana (1870)
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Portrayals of the battle by a German artist (top) and a French one (bottom)
Battle of Havana (1870)

28.
Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande
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The Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande on 28 November 1870 was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War, won by Prussia. In an attempt to relieve the Siege of Paris, French General Crouzats XX Corps launched an attack against three Prussian brigades resting in Beaune-la-Rolande. These brigades were from the Prussian X Corps which was detailed to guard the flanks and rear of the force besieging Paris and provide early warning of any French counter-attacks. The French committed a force of 60,000 men, largely conscripts of the Garde Mobile, despite the overwhelming superiority of numbers the French attack failed to take the village and was ultimately forced to retreat by Prussian reinforcements. Prussian losses amounted to 817 soldiers and 37 officers with the French losing around 8,000 men and 100 taken prisoner. The French XX Corps changed its plan of attack, bypassing the village, but was unsuccessful at relieving the siege of Paris, the Prussian army had begun its invasion of France in August and was already laying siege to Paris. The three Prussian brigades at Beaune-la-Rolande were under the command of Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz and were resting after pursuing retreating French forces, the nearest reinforcements were ten miles away at Pithiviers under General Constantin von Alvensleben. General Crouzat had a force of between 31,000 and 60,000 men and 140 artillery pieces against the Prussian 9,000 to 12,000 men and 70 guns. The French force were equipped with the Chassepot rifle which had almost double the range of the Prussian Dreyse. The Prussians, coming under heavy French artillery fire, withdrew all bar 13 companies of infantry from the village, opening fire at 200 paces, the French assaults were halted at the edge of the village, its roads now protected by barricades. The most successful attack was made by the 3rd Zouave Regiment which left 700 dead, every one of General Crouzats staff officers were killed or wounded whilst encouraging the attack. A second attack was sent at 1. 30pm with the Prussians running low on ammunition, the defenders held their fire until the French were almost upon them, unleashing a volley which was followed by half an hour of frenzied close combat before the French were repulsed once more. Crouzat, determined to take the village, ordered one more attack after dark and this attack was delivered straight along the road into the village and came close to breaching the outer defences but was again driven back by the concentrated volleys of Prussian fire. The French had lost heart for the battle and the majority of the men refused their officers orders to close with the enemy, discharged their rifles at the enemy and ran away. Military analysts were shocked at the news of the defeat of 60,000 men by 9,000 and this was intended to improve discipline and harden up the troops but simply reduced their morale. It is cited as one of the first occasions where the fragility of a large recently conscripted army was demonstrated, the Garde Mobile could only be relied upon when defending a fortified position and were almost useless for an attack launched in the style of the Napoleonic Wars. However, almost the entire French regular army was already lost at the battles of Sedan, upon receiving news of this sortie the Army of the Loire wheeled to the right to bypass Beaune-la-Rolande and march on Paris. French casualties amounted to around 8,000 soldiers killed and wounded and 100 taken prisoner, the Prussians lost 817 soldiers and 37 officers killed

Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande
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A near-contemporary depiction of the battle
Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande
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Prussian troops barricading the streets of Beaune-la-Rolande
Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande
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An engraving depicting French troops at the battle
Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande
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An ossuary containing the remains of 402 French soldiers killed at Beaune-la-Rolande

29.
Battle of Hallue
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The Battle of Hallue was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War on December 23 and 24,1870. The battle was fought between 40,000 French under General Louis Faidherbe and 22,500 Prussian troops under Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel, the French lost heavily in the village lying in front of their position. However, the Prussians were unable to carry the entrenchments on the heights, after the attack was repulsed, the French assumed the offensive, but with no decisive result. One thousand French soldiers were killed, and 1,300 were imprisoned, about 927 German troops were killed and wounded. After the fall of Amiens, on September 27,1870, and its occupation by the Prussian Army and it received a fresh supply of troops, allowing it to turn out three divisions. General Faidherbe, lately entrusted with the command of this army, at once gave guiding rules and he sent General Lecointe towards Saint-Quentin with the mission to act on the Haute Somme. Four battalions, including one of light-infantry and a battery of 4, succeeded, on September 9, in taking possession of Ham, Faidherbe, coming on the place, gave the order to withdraw and go towards Amiens. On December 17, the Northern Army, regrouped, came settling to the Hallue valley from Bavelincourt to Daours, the 1st Division occupied Vadencourt, Bavelincourt, Beaucourt and Béhencourt, keeping up the road to Arras. The 2nd Division kept Querrieu, Pont-Noyelles, Bussy, Daours, the 3rd Division was in reserve, its 1st Brigade kept watch over the Somme river, on Corbie and Fouilloy and detached a regiment on Lahoussoye. The 4th Division in the making up, was put up round Corbie, at the same time, General von der Goeben, chief commander of the 8th Prussian Corps, set, The 32nd Brigade into Amiens. The 31st Brigade was just arriving on Sains and the field-artillery was on Ailly-sur-Noye, the 15th Infantry Division was along the La Luce river. The cavalry was on flank-guard from Rosières to Chaulnes, reaching the La Gorgue wood skirt, the party knocked against a French outpost and, sustained by its artillery, joined a lengthy battle. In this battle the Prussians lost 3 officers and 69 men killed or wounded, French casualties were 7 dead and 20 wounded. Succeeding to General Steinmetz, General Manteuffel, recently appointed at the head of the 1st Prussian Army, arrived in Amiens on December 22, the 15th Division must attack straight to the river, following an axle materialized by the Albert and Corbie roads. The 16th Division, by the roads in the north of Arras road, an infantry Brigade is kept in reserve. Part of the cavalry Division must carry out the touch between the 15th and the 16th Divisions, fresh supplies of troops, shall be launched in the battle as soon as their arrival. The battle is going to out a front line of 12 kilometres wide and 4 to 5 kilometres deep, on a snow-covered ground. The French used the Chassepot model 1866, breech-loading gun, with paper cartridges, the Prussians used the Dreize created in 1848, breech-loading gun, with paper cartridges and 15mm bullets

30.
Battle of Bapaume (1871)
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The Battle of Bapaume was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War which defeated French attempts to relieve the besieged city of Péronne, Somme. The battle was fought on 3 January 1871 near the town of Bapaume, the Prussian 1st Army had reached Bapaume at the end of December while at the same time the French Army of the North under Faidherbe moved out to break the German siege of Péronne. Both sides encountered each other near Bapaume, although Faidherbes green troops held their own against the outnumbered but experienced Prussians, they did not follow up their advantage and retreated. As a consequence, Péronne surrendered on 10 January, soon the Prussians would be reinforced and two weeks later they would meet Faidherbe in battle again at Saint Quentin

31.
Battle of Villersexel
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The Battle of Villersexel took place on 9 January 1871 as part of the Franco-Prussian War. Elements of the French Armée de lEst under General Bourbaki engaged August von Werders Prussian forces and it resulted in a French victory. In the turmoil and confusion following major reverses and capitulations at Sedan, Paris, and Metz, the Armée de lEst was tasked with reaching and assisting Belfort, where Colonel Denfert-Rochereau still held out. Werders Prussians caught up to Bourbaki in the evening of January 9 at Villersexel, Prussian troops, filing through an unguarded pass, rapidly overwhelmed the positions surrounding the bridge over the Ognon. By 13, 00h the château fell to the Prussians, however, the French lines at Esprels, Autrey-le-Vay, and, to the east, Villers-la-Ville, successfully checked the Prussian attack. A French counterattack organized by Bourbaki pressed steadily forth in the afternoon, fighting continued into the night until the retreat of the Prussians at 3, 00am. Bourbaki continued his march on January 13, while Werder fell back some 20 kilometers north along the Lisaine, though the French sustained more loses they managed to drive the Prussian armies from their barricades. The Chateau des Villersexel, then known as Château des Grammont, was destroyed during the battle, the village, also burned, was particularly affected in its lower part to Ognon. Colonel Rousset, Histoire générale de la Guerre franco-allemande, Vol.2, édition Jules Tallandier, général Pierre Bertin, 1870-1871 Désillusions dans lEst Cêtre Besançon Editions,2007

Battle of Villersexel
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La bataille de Villersexel by Alphonse de Neuville (1834-1885).
Battle of Villersexel
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A map of the area around Villersexel at the time of the battle
Battle of Villersexel
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View of destruction to the village

32.
Battle of Le Mans
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The Battle of Le Mans was a Prussian victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France. After the victory at the Battle of Orleans, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia marched his army further to the west towards Le Mans, antoine Chanzy had under his command about 150,000 soldiers stationed in Le Mans. The bulk of the pre-war professional French army had either been captured at the Battle of Sedan, thus Chanzys army consisted mainly of reservists and hastily conscripted civilians armed with a variety of obsolete civilian rifles or old military muzzle-loaders. Greatly outnumbering the German army, the French conscripts were nonetheless no match for the battle-seasoned Germans, the French army was greatly demoralized and ill-equipped. Much of the French ammunition had been soaked in the giving the Prussians a major advantage against the obsolete French gunnery. But Chanzy still ordered his forces into trenches prepared before Le Mans, the Germans hit the French left flank guarded by the Huisne River. The flank was turned and nearly routed until artillery and a counterattack halted the German attack, a bold German attack was launched on the French right flank, which fell apart. Corps commander Jean Bernard Jauréguiberry attempted to rally the troops to mount a counterattack. The French defense dissolved, the falling back into Le Mans. The battle had completely ended French resistance in the west, Friedrich Karls supply lines were stretched thin and his army also was exhausted from its campaign along the Loire River that he did not pursue Chanzy. However, Chanzys army was so demoralized and fatigued after the battle that it ceased to be an effective force, howard, Michael The Franco-Prussian War, German Invasion of France MacMillan 1962 History of the Franco-Prussian War

Battle of Le Mans
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Battle of Le Mans

33.
Siege of Belfort
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The Siege of Belfort was a 103-day military assault and blockade of the city of Belfort, France by Prussian forces during the Franco-Prussian War. The French garrison held out until the January 1871 armistice between France and the German Empire obligated French forces to abandon the stronghold in February 1871. Belfort is located in a gap between the mountainous southern Vosges and the Jura Massif, strategically positioned as the gateway between Alsace and central France, at the beginning of the war, the French Army of the Rhine was routed in northern Alsace. The fall of Strasbourg on 28 September 1870 allowed the German army under August von Werder to move south against Belfort, upon hearing of the approaching German army, Pierre Philippe Denfert-Rochereau, commander of Belfort, began constructing fortifications around the city, expanding those originally built by Vauban. Werders forces reached Belfort and invested the city on 3 November, the intransigent resistance by the French forces stopped the Germans from completing an effective encirclement of the city. General Charles Denis Bourbaki assembled an army intending to relieve Belfort, on 15 January 1871 Bourbaki attacked Werder along the Lisaine River, however after a three-day battle he was repelled and his army retreated into Switzerland. German forces grew impatient with the length of the siege and on 27 January 1871, General von Tresckow launched an attack on the city which was repulsed, on 15 February an armistice was signed between France and Germany. Louis Adolphe Thiers, president of the Government of National Defense sent an urgent message to Denfert-Rochereau ordering him to surrender the fortress, on 18 February the Belfort garrison marched freely out of the city with their weapons and honor. In recognition of the French defense of Belfort, under the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt, fortified region of Belfort Howard, Michael The Franco Prussian War ISBN 0-415-26671-8

34.
Belgium and the Franco-Prussian War
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Though not actually a belligerent in the Franco–Prussian War, Belgian society and politics were heavily affected by the conflict, and in particular the fear of invasion by either side. So when news of the declaration of war was received, the Belgian government of Jules dAnethan, under King Leopold II, the gold reserves of the National Bank were hurried to the National Redoubt at Antwerp before the news became public. When this leaked out, it caused panic, the Belgian army was called up on the 15 July, the same day that both French and German armies mobilised. Despite key battles taking place close to Belgian territory, including the Battle of Sedan just a few miles from the border. A possible deciding factor in the hesitation of both sides to attack Belgium was the British guarantee of Belgian neutrality issued at the Treaty of London in 1839. In order to avoid giving the impression of belligerence in the conflict, the French agreed and Belgian legionnaires remained in their base in French Algeria while their comrades were deployed to the front. The decision outraged the other legionaries and the Legions march, Le Boudin, the Franco–Prussian War made Belgians acutely aware of the precarious situation of their country in the event of another war between the two powers. In the years following the conflict, there was widespread modernisation of the military, the system of Remplacement which had been viewed as a crucial personal liberty by many Belgians was abolished and an improved system of conscription implemented. These reforms, led by dAnethan and under pressure from Leopold II, the Catholics united with the Liberals under Frère-Orban to oppose them, and the reforms were finally defeated when dAnethans government fell during an unrelated scandal. The 1909 System abolished the inefficient system of Remplacement, instituting compulsory military service of eight years service in the front lines and this swelled the size of the Belgian army to over 100,000 well-trained men. A commemorative medal, the 1870–71 Commemorative Medal, was inaugurated to the veterans of the conflict in 1911

Belgium and the Franco-Prussian War
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French and Belgian troops "face off" across the border in 1870
Belgium and the Franco-Prussian War
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Leopold II in military uniform
Belgium and the Franco-Prussian War
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Entry to the Fort d'Évegnée near Liège built in the 1880s, following the crisis of 1870–1

35.
Paris Commune
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The Paris Commune was a radical socialist and revolutionary government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871. Following the defeat of Emperor Napoleon III in September 1870, the French Second Empire swiftly collapsed, in its stead rose a Third Republic at war with Prussia, which laid siege to Paris for four months. A hotbed of radicalism, Frances capital was primarily defended during this time by the often politicized. In February 1871 Adolphe Thiers, the new executive of the French national government, signed an armistice with Prussia that disarmed the Army. Soldiers of the Communes National Guard killed two French army generals, and the Commune refused to accept the authority of the French government, the regular French Army suppressed the Commune during La semaine sanglante beginning on 21 May 1871. Debates over the policies and outcome of the Commune had significant influence on the ideas of Karl Marx, on 2 September 1870, after Frances unexpected defeat at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War, Emperor Napoleon III surrendered to the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. When the news reached Paris the next day, shocked and angry crowds came out into the streets, Empress Eugénie de Montijo, the Emperors regent, fled the city, and the Government of the Second Empire swiftly collapsed. Republican and radical deputies of the National Assembly went to the Hôtel de Ville, proclaimed the new French Republic, though the Emperor and the French Army had been defeated at Sedan, the war continued. The German army marched swiftly toward Paris, in Paris, however, the republican candidates dominated, winning 234,000 votes against 77,000 for the Bonapartists. Only about 40,000 were employed in factories and large enterprises, most were employed in industries in textiles, furniture. There were also 115,000 servants and 45,000 concierges, in addition to the native French population, there were about 100,000 immigrant workers and political refugees, the largest number being from Italy and Poland. The working class and immigrants suffered the most from the lack of activity due to the war. The Commune resulted in part from growing discontent among the Paris workers and this discontent can be traced to the first worker uprisings, the Canut Revolts, in Lyon and Paris in the 1830s. Many Parisians, especially workers and the classes, supported a democratic republic. They also wanted a more just way of managing the economy, if not necessarily socialist, socialist movements, such as the First International, had been growing in influence with hundreds of societies affiliated to it across France. In early 1867, Parisian employers of bronze-workers attempted to de-unionize their workers and this was defeated by a strike organized by the International. Later in 1867, a public demonstration in Paris was answered by the legal dissolution of its executive committee. The International had considerable influence even among unaffiliated French workers, particularly in Paris, the killing of journalist Victor Noir incensed Parisians, and the arrests of journalists critical of the Emperor did nothing to quiet the city

Paris Commune
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A barricade on Rue Voltaire, after its capture by the regular army during the Bloody Week
Paris Commune
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Louis Auguste Blanqui, leader of the Commune's far-left faction, was imprisoned for the entire time of the Commune.
Paris Commune
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Eugène Varlin led several thousand National Guard soldiers to march to the Hotel de Ville chanting 'Long Live the Commune!".
Paris Commune
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Revolutionary units of the National Guard briefly seized the Hotel de Ville on 31 October 1870, but the uprising failed.

36.
Frederick III, German Emperor
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Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for ninety-nine days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl, known informally as Fritz, was the son of Emperor Wilhelm I and was raised in his familys tradition of military service. Following the unification of Germany in 1871 his father, then King of Prussia, Frederick was suffering from cancer of the larynx when he died on 15 June 1888, aged fifty-six, following unsuccessful medical treatments for his condition. Frederick married Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, the couple were well-matched, their shared liberal ideology led them to seek greater representation for commoners in the government. Frederick, in spite of his conservative militaristic family background, had developed liberal tendencies as a result of his ties with Britain, liberals in both Germany and Britain hoped that as emperor, Frederick III would move to liberalize the German Empire. Frederick and Victoria were great admirers of Prince Albert, Victorias father and they planned to rule as consorts, like Albert and Queen Victoria, and to reform what they saw as flaws in the executive branch that Bismarck had created for himself. The office of Chancellor, responsible to the Emperor, would be replaced with a British-style cabinet, government policy would be based on the consensus of the cabinet. Frederick described the Imperial Constitution as ingeniously contrived chaos and he sought to guard against such a turn by keeping the Crown Prince from a position of any influence and by using foul means as well as fair to make him unpopular. The timing of Fredericks death and the length of his reign are important topics among historians, Frederick William was born in the New Palace at Potsdam in Prussia on 18 October 1831. He was a scion of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of Prussia, Fredericks father, Prince William, was a younger brother of King Frederick William IV and, having been raised in the military traditions of the Hohenzollerns, developed into a strict disciplinarian. Because of their differences, the couple did not have a marriage and, as a result, Frederick grew up in a troubled household. He had one sister, Louise, who was eight years his junior, Frederick also had a very good relationship with his uncle, King Frederick William IV, who has been called the romantic on the throne. Frederick grew up during a tumultuous political period as the concept of liberalism in Germany, overall, the liberals desired a government ruled by popular representation. When Frederick was 17, these emergent nationalistic and liberal sentiments sparked a series of uprisings across the German states. In Germany, their goal was to protect freedoms, such as the freedom of assembly and freedom of the press, although the uprisings ultimately brought about no lasting changes, liberal sentiments remained an influential force in German politics throughout Fredericks life. Despite the value placed by the Hohenzollern family on a military education. Accordingly, Frederick was thoroughly tutored in military traditions and the liberal arts. His private tutor was Ernst Curtius, a famous archaeologist, Frederick was a talented student, particularly good at foreign languages, becoming fluent in English and French, and studying Latin

37.
Napoleon III
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Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I and he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution, during the first years of the Empire, Napoleons government imposed censorship and harsh repressive measures against his opponents. Some six thousand were imprisoned or sent to penal colonies until 1859, thousands more went into voluntary exile abroad, including Victor Hugo. From 1862 onwards, he relaxed government censorship, and his came to be known as the Liberal Empire. Many of his opponents returned to France and became members of the National Assembly, Napoleon III is best known today for his grand reconstruction of Paris, carried out by his prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. He launched similar public works projects in Marseille, Lyon, Napoleon III modernized the French banking system, greatly expanded and consolidated the French railway system, and made the French merchant marine the second largest in the world. He promoted the building of the Suez Canal and established modern agriculture, Napoleon III negotiated the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier free trade agreement with Britain and similar agreements with Frances other European trading partners. Social reforms included giving French workers the right to strike and the right to organize, womens education greatly expanded, as did the list of required subjects in public schools. In foreign policy, Napoleon III aimed to reassert French influence in Europe and he was a supporter of popular sovereignty and of nationalism. In Europe, he allied with Britain and defeated Russia in the Crimean War and his regime assisted Italian unification and, in doing so, annexed Savoy and the County of Nice to France, at the same time, his forces defended the Papal States against annexation by Italy. Napoleon doubled the area of the French overseas empire in Asia, the Pacific, on the other hand, his armys intervention in Mexico which aimed to create a Second Mexican Empire under French protection ended in failure. Beginning in 1866, Napoleon had to face the power of Prussia. In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies, the French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan. The French Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris, and Napoleon went into exile in England, charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, later known as Louis Napoleon and then Napoleon III, was born in Paris on the night of 20–21 April 1808. His presumed father was Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. His mother was Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter by the first marriage of Napoleons wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, as empress, Joséphine proposed the marriage as a way to produce an heir for the Emperor, who agreed, as Joséphine was by then infertile. Louis married Hortense when he was twenty-four and she was nineteen and they had a difficult relationship, and only lived together for brief periods

Napoleon III
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Napoleon III
Napoleon III
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Louis Bonaparte (1778–1846), the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, the King of Holland, and father of Napoleon III.
Napoleon III
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Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), the mother of Napoleon III, in 1808, the year Napoleon III was born.
Napoleon III
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The lakeside house at Arenenberg, Switzerland, where Napoleon III spent much of his youth and exile.

38.
Wilhelm I of Germany
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William I, or in German Wilhelm I, of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor, as well as the first Head of State of a united Germany. Under the leadership of William and his Minister President Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. Contrary to the domineering Bismarck, William was described as polite, gentlemanly and, while a staunch conservative, the future king and emperor was born William Frederick Louis of Prussia in the Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin on 22 March 1797. As the second son of Prince Frederick William, himself son of King Frederick William II and his grandfather died the year he was born, at age 53, in 1797, and his father Frederick William III became king. He was educated from 1801 to 1809 by Johann Friedrich Gottlieb Delbrück, who was also in charge of the education of Williams brother, at age twelve, his father appointed him an officer in the Prussian army. William served in the army from 1814 onward, like his father he fought against Napoleon I of France during the part of the Napoleonic Wars known in Germany as the Befreiungskriege, and was reportedly a very brave soldier. He was made a Captain and won the Iron Cross for his actions at Bar-sur-Aube, the war and the fight against France left a lifelong impression on him, and he had a long-standing antipathy towards the French. In 1815, William was promoted to Major and commanded a battalion of the 1 and he fought under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battles of Ligny and Waterloo. He also became an excellent diplomat by engaging in diplomatic missions after 1815, in 1816, William became the commander of the Stettiner Gardelandwehrbataillon and in 1818 was promoted to Generalmajor. The next year, William was appointed inspector of the VII. and this made him a spokesman of the Prussian Army within the House of Hohenzollern. He argued in favour of a strong, well-trained and well-equipped army, in 1820, William became commander of the 1. Gardedivision and in 1825 was promoted to commanding general of the III, in 1829, William married Princess Augusta von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach after Princess Elisa Radziwill, his cousin whom he had been attracted to, was deemed an inappropriate match by his father. William had been forced to abandon the relationship with Elisa in 1826, Augusta was the daughter of Grand Duke Karl Friedrich von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach. Their marriage was stable, but not a very happy one. In 1840 his older brother became King of Prussia, since he had no children, William was first in line to succeed him to the throne and thus was given the title Prinz von Preußen. Against his convictions but out of loyalty towards his brother, in 1847 William signed the bill setting up a Prussian parliament and took a seat in the upper chamber, the Herrenhaus. During the Revolutions of 1848, William successfully crushed a revolt in Berlin that was aimed at his elder brother, the use of cannon made him unpopular at the time and earned him the nickname Kartätschenprinz. Indeed, he had to flee to England for a while and he returned and helped to put down an uprising in Baden, where he commanded the Prussian army

39.
Albert of Saxony
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Albert was a German King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the eldest son of Prince John, by his wife Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Albert had a successful military career leading Saxon troops which participated in the First Schleswig War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the Franco-Prussian War. Otherwise, his reign as king was largely uneventful, Alberts education, as usual with German princes, concentrated to a great extent on military matters, but he attended lectures at the University of Bonn. His first experience of warfare came in 1849, when he served as a captain in the First War of Schleswig against Denmark. When the Austro-Prussian War broke out in 1866, Albert then Crown Prince, no attempt was made to defend Saxony, the Saxons fell back into Bohemia and effected a junction with the Austrians. They took a prominent part in the battles by which the Prussians forced the line of the Jizera, the Crown Prince, however, succeeded in effecting the retreat in good order, and in the decisive Battle of Königgrätz he held the extreme left of the Austrian position. The Saxons maintained their post with great tenacity, but were involved in the defeat of their allies. He proved a firm adherent of the Prussian alliance, on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 he again commanded the Saxons, who were included in the 2nd army under Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, his old opponent. At the Battle of Gravelotte, they formed the left of the German army, and with the Prussian Guard carried out the attack on St Privat. He was succeeded in command of the XII corps by his brother Prince George, Alberts conduct in these engagements won for him the complete confidence of the army, and during the Siege of Paris his troops formed the north-east section of the investing force. After the conclusion of the Treaty of Frankfurt, he was left in command of the German army of occupation, on the conclusion of peace he was made an inspector-general of the army and a field marshal. On the death of his father King John on 29 October 1873, during his reign, the Saxon monarchy became constitutional. In the 1870s Albert initiated the construction of a Dresden suburb, at that time it was the largest garrison in Germany. Near the former suburb other buildings and places still bear his name, the Albertbrücke, the Alberthafen, the Albertplatz, in 1879 he initiated the re-construction of the Saint Afra School in Meissen. In 1897 he was appointed arbitrator between the claimants for the Principality of Lippe. In Dresden on 18 June 1853 Albert married Princess Carola, daughter of Gustav, Prince of Vasa and granddaughter of Gustav IV Adolf, Albert died at Sibyllenort on 19 June 1902, and was succeeded by his brother, who became King George. He was buried in Dresden on 23 June, among the present were both the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I. Konrad Sturmhoefel, König Albert von Sachsen, georg von Schimpff, König Albert, Fünfzig Jahre Soldat

40.
Investment (military)
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Investment is the military process of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape. It serves both to cut communications with the world, and to prevent supplies and reinforcements from being introduced. A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards an enemy fort, the resulting fortifications are known as lines of circumvallation. Lines of circumvallation generally consist of earthen ramparts and entrenchments that encircle the besieged city, the line of circumvallation can be used as a base for launching assaults against the besieged city or for constructing further earthworks nearer to the city. A contravallation may be constructed in cases where the army is threatened by a field army allied to an enemy fort. This is a line of fortifications outside the circumvallation, facing away from an enemy fort. The contravallation protects the besiegers from attacks by allies of the citys defenders, thucydides notes the role circumvallation played in the Spartan siege of Plataea during the initial stages of the Peloponnesian War in 429 BC. Another example from the period is the siege of Constantinople in 717-718 AD. At that time, the Isaurian dynasty of emperors ruled in Constantinople, the Isaurian dynastys founder, Leo the Isaurian, originally named Konon, was commander of the theme of Anatolia, appointed by the Emperor Anastasius II Artemius. During Konons term as general of the Anatolics, the Emperor Anastasius II had been deposed by the troops of the elite Opsician regiment and he finally accepted the offer of the purple, and was made Emperor Theodosius III. Theodosius, however, alienated the support of the Opsicians, and Konon, changing his name to Leo, took advantage of this and decided to use them to take the purple for himself. He allied with Artabasdus, the commander of the theme of Armenia, the basic objectives and tactics of a military investment have remained the same in the modern era. During the Second World War there were many sieges and many investments, one of the best known sieges of World War II, which demonstrated the tactical use of investment, was the siege of Stalingrad. During the first half of the siege the Germans were unable to encircle the city, so the Soviets were able to get men. In the second half of the battle, the investment of Stalingrad by the Soviets eventually forced the starving Germans inside the city to surrender. List of established military terms Trench warfare Encirclement

Investment (military)
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A reconstructed section of the Alesia investment fortifications
Investment (military)
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Schematic view of the circumvallation during the Siege of Groenlo in 1627

41.
Versailles (city)
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According to the 2008 census, the population of the city is 88,641 inhabitants, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975. A new town, founded by the will of King Louis XIV, it was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status of city, it became the préfecture of Seine-et-Oise département in 1790, then of Yvelines in 1968. Versailles is historically known for numerous treaties such as the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War and this word formation is similar to Latin seminare which gave French semailles. From May 1682, when Louis XIV moved the court and government permanently to Versailles, until his death in September 1715, during the various periods when government affairs were conducted from Versailles, Paris remained the official capital of France. Versailles was made the préfecture of the Seine-et-Oise département at its inception in March 1790, Versailles was made the préfecture of the Yvelines département, the largest chunk of the former Seine-et-Oise. At the 2006 census the Yvelines had 1,395,804 inhabitants, Versailles is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese which was created in 1790. The diocese of Versailles is subordinate to the archdiocese of Paris, in 1975, Versailles was made the seat of a Court of Appeal whose jurisdiction covers the western suburbs of Paris. Since 1972, Versailles has been the seat of one of Frances 30 nationwide académies of the Ministry of National Education. Versailles is also an important node for the French army, a tradition going back to the monarchy with, for instance, the palace of Versailles is in the out-skirts of the city. Versailles is located 17.1 km west-southwest from the centre of Paris, the city of Versailles has an area of 26.18 km2, which is a quarter of the area of the city of Paris. In 1989, Versailles had a density of 3, 344/km2, whereas Paris had a density of 20. Born out of the will of a king, the city has a rational and symmetrical grid of streets, by the standards of the 18th century, Versailles was a very modern European city. Versailles was used as a model for the building of Washington, the name of Versailles appears for the first time in a medieval document dated 1038. In the end of the 11th century, the village curled around a medieval castle, the 14th century brought the Black Death and the Hundred Years War, and with it death and destruction. At the end of the Hundred Years War in the 15th century, in 1561, Martial de Loménie, secretary of state for finances under King Charles IX, became lord of Versailles. He obtained permission to four annual fairs and a weekly market on Thursdays. The population of Versailles was 500 inhabitants, Martial de Loménie was murdered during the St. Bartholomews Day massacre

Versailles (city)
Versailles (city)
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Flag
Versailles (city)
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Louis XIII built the original hunting lodge that will become the Palace of Versailles under his son and successor Louis XIV
Versailles (city)
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Versailles in 1789.

42.
Leonhard von Blumenthal
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Von Blumenthal was born in Schwedt, Brandenburg on 30 July 1810, the son of Captain Ludwig von Blumenthal, who was killed in 1813 at the Battle of Dennewitz. He entered the Guards as 2nd lieutenant in 1827 and he studied at the Berlin General War School. After serving in the Rhine Province, he joined the division of the general staff in 1846. As lieutenant of the 31st foot, he took part in 1848 in the suppression of the Berlin riots, in 1850, von Blumenthal was general staff officer of the mobile division under Tietzen in Hesse-Kassel. He was sent on a mission to England in that year, having attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he was appointed personal adjutant to Prince Frederick Charles in 1859. In 1860 he became colonel of the 31st, and later of the 71st and he was chief of the staff of the III. In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, von Blumenthal was chief of the staff to the crown prince of Prussia. It was upon this army that the brunt of the fighting fell, von Blumenthals own part in these battles and in the campaign generally was most conspicuous. At Königgrätz the crown prince said to him, I know to whom I owe the conduct of my army, and von Blumenthal soon received promotion to lieutenant-general and he was also made a knight of the Hohenzollern Order. From 1866 to 1870, he commanded the 14th division at Düsseldorf, in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, von Blumenthal was chief of staff of the 3rd army under the crown prince. Eighteen other members of his family fought in this war. Bismarck said, So far as one can see, the papers make no mention of him, although he is chief of the staff to the Crown Prince and, next after Moltke, deserves most credit for the conduct of the war. He won the battles of Wörth and Wissembourg, and after that of Sedan and he directed the Siege of Paris and resisted calls to bombard it. He also directed the operations conducted by General von der Tann around Orleans, in 1871, Blumenthal represented Germany at the British manoeuvres at Chobham, and was given the command of the IV. army corps at Magdeburg. In 1873, he became a general of infantry, and ten years later he was made a count, in 1888 he was made a general field marshal, after which he was in command of the 4th and 3rd army inspections. He retired in 1896, and died at Quellendorf near Köthen on 21 December 1900 and he was noted for his kindliness and sense of humour. His least appreciated but arguably most important work was the development of the doctrine of Fire and Infiltration, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Blumenthal, Leonhard. Journals of Field Marshal Count von Blumenthal for 1866 and 1870-71, edited by his son, Count Albrecht von Blumenthal, translated by Major Gillespie-Addison, published by Edward Arnold,1903

Leonhard von Blumenthal
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Field-Marshal Count Leonhardt von Blumenthal, wearing his Pour-le-Mérite
Leonhard von Blumenthal
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The German Headquarters at Versailles, 1870, by Anton von Werner. Leonhardt von Blumenthal standing to the left of the picture
Leonhard von Blumenthal
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The Crown Prince of Saxony and the Crown Prince of Prussia. Leonhardt von Blumenthal at left of picture. From a painting by Carl Steffeck
Leonhard von Blumenthal
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Leonhardt von Blumenthal next to Bismarck, shaking hands with General von Hartmann at the Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles in 1871. Detail of a painting by Anton von Werner

43.
Otto von Bismarck
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Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg, known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s, he engineered a series of wars that unified the German states, significantly and deliberately excluding Austria, into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. With that accomplished by 1871, he skillfully used balance of power diplomacy to maintain Germanys position in a Europe which, despite many disputes and war scares, in 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, a position he would hold until 1890. He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France, in 1871, he formed the German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the Iron Chancellor, German unification and its rapid economic growth was the foundation to his foreign policy. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion. A master of politics at home, Bismarck created the first welfare state in the modern world. In the 1870s, he allied himself with the Liberals and fought the Catholic Church in what was called the Kulturkampf and he lost that battle as the Catholics responded by forming a powerful Centre party and using universal male suffrage to gain a bloc of seats. Bismarck then reversed himself, ended the Kulturkampf, broke with the Liberals, imposed protective tariffs, a devout Lutheran, he was loyal to his king, who argued with Bismarck but in the end supported him against the advice of his wife and his heir. Under Wilhelm I, Bismarck largely controlled domestic and foreign affairs, until he was removed by the young Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890, bismarck—a Junker himself—was strong-willed, outspoken and sometimes judged overbearing, but he could also be polite, charming and witty. Occasionally he displayed a violent temper, and he kept his power by threatening resignation time and again. He possessed not only a national and international vision but also the short-term ability to juggle complex developments. As the leader of what historians call revolutionary conservatism, Bismarck became a hero to German nationalists, many historians praise him as a visionary who was instrumental in uniting Germany and, once that had been accomplished, kept the peace in Europe through adroit diplomacy. Bismarck was born in Schönhausen, a family estate situated west of Berlin in the Prussian province of Saxony. He had two siblings, Bernhard and Malwine, the world saw Bismarck as a typical Prussian Junker, an image that he encouraged by wearing military uniforms. Bismarck was well educated and cosmopolitan with a gift for conversation, in addition to his native German, he was fluent in English, French, Italian, Polish and Russian. Bismarck was educated at Johann Ernst Plamanns elementary school, and the Friedrich-Wilhelm, from 1832 to 1833, he studied law at the University of Göttingen, where he was a member of the Corps Hannovera, and then enrolled at the University of Berlin. In 1838, while stationed as an army reservist in Greifswald, at Göttingen, Bismarck befriended the American student John Lothrop Motley

44.
Thiers wall
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The Thiers wall was the last of the defensive walls of Paris. It was an enclosure constructed between 1841 and 1844 under a law enacted by the government of the French prime minister and it covered 7,802 hectares, along the boulevards des Maréchaux of today. A sloping area outside the wall, called a glacis, extended outward from the Thiers wall to the location of todays Boulevard Périphérique, the wall was demolished in stages between 1919 and 1929. So he conceived the project of building around the city an enclosure of walls that would make the city impregnable, a first draft was presented to the Chamber of Deputies in early 1833 by Marshal Soult, Council President and Minister of War. The works were serviced and supplied by the Rue Militaire, supported by a railway line, having become useless due to progress in military technology, the fortifications were demolished, beginning in 1919. Their locations first became vacant lots, often referred to as the zone and they were progressively rehabilitated from the mid-1920s onward. Later still, the Boulevard Périphérique was built on the route of the Thiers wall and continues to separate Paris, the shape of the former strongholds is marked in several places in the topology of roads into this area. The land was used to new sports facilities and low-income housing. Many of these buildings were constructed in Art Deco style. The zone was not itself the site occupied by the wall, but a strip of land where no building was permitted in front of the wall, a ditch. It was designated as an area where building was not permitted and it was occupied by slums at the end of the 19th century, the French slang zonard derives from the zone. Sur les traces des enceintes de Paris, dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris. Histoire des fortifications de Paris et leur extension en Île-de-France, Guy le Hallé, in Paris aux cent villages, La Ballade des Fortifs, numbers 34 to 45 Paris walls Guy Le Hallé, The history of fortifications à Saint-Ouen Malakoff Infos, The wall in Malakoff

Thiers wall
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Fortifications near Porte de Versailles, before they were torn down.
Thiers wall
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Map of Paris from 1911 showing Thiers fortifications surrounding the city.
Thiers wall
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The Poterne des Peupliers ("postern of the poplars") is one of the remains of the Thiers wall
Thiers wall
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The porte de Pantin, about 1908

45.
Seine
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The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Source-Seine,30 kilometres northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and it is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea. There are 37 bridges within Paris and dozens more spanning the river outside the city, examples in Paris include the Pont Alexandre III and Pont Neuf, the latter of which dates back to 1607. Outside the city, examples include the Pont de Normandie, one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world, the Seine rises in the commune of Source-Seine, about 30 kilometres northwest of Dijon. The source has been owned by the city of Paris since 1864, a number of closely associated small ditches or depressions provide the source waters, with an artificial grotto laid out to highlight and contain a deemed main source. The grotto includes a statue of a nymph, on the same site are the buried remains of a Gallo-Roman temple. Small statues of the dea Sequana Seine goddess and other ex voti found at the place are now exhibited in the Dijon archeological museum. The Seine is dredged and oceangoing vessels can dock at Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea, commercial riverboats can use the river from Bar-sur-Seine,560 kilometres to its mouth. At Paris, there are 37 bridges, the river is only 24 metres above sea level 446 kilometres from its mouth, making it slow flowing and thus easily navigable. The Seine Maritime,105.7 kilometres from the English Channel at Le Havre to Rouen, is the portion of the Seine used by ocean-going craft. The tidal section of the Seine Maritime is followed by a section with four large multiple locks until the mouth of the Oise at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Multiple locks at Bougival / Chatou and at Suresnes lift the vessels to the level of the river in Paris, upstream from Paris seven locks ensure navigation to Saint Mammès, where the Loing mouth is situated. Through an eighth lock the river Yonne is reached at Montereau-Fault-Yonne, from the mouth of the Yonne, larger ships can continue upstream to Nogent-sur-Seine. From there on, the river is only by small craft. All navigation ends abruptly at Marcilly-sur-Seine, where the ancient Canal de la Haute-Seine used to allow vessels to continue all the way to Troyes and this canal has been abandoned for many years. The average depth of the Seine today at Paris is about 9.5 metres. Until locks were installed to raise the level in the 1800s, the river was much shallower within the city most of the time, today the depth is tightly controlled and the entire width of the river between the built-up banks on either side is normally filled with water. The average flow of the river is low, only a few cubic metres per second

46.
Bavaria
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Bavaria is a free state and one of 16 federal states of Germany. Located in the German southeast with an area of 70,548 square kilometres and its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and, with 12.9 million inhabitants, it is Germanys second most populous state. Munich, Bavarias capital and largest city, is the third largest city in Germany, the Duchy of Bavaria dates back to the year 555. In the 17th century CE, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, when Bavaria became a republic. In 1946, the Free State of Bavaria re-organised itself on democratic lines after the Second World War, Bavaria has a unique culture, largely because of the states Catholic majority and conservative traditions. Bavarians have traditionally been proud of their culture, which includes such as Oktoberfest. The state also has the second largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia. The Bavarians emerged in a north of the Alps, previously inhabited by Celts. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, the name Bavarian means Men of Baia which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources circa 520, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the diocese was named after an ancient Bohemian king, Boiia, in the 14th century BCE. From about 554 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the Duchy of Bavaria and their daughter, Theodelinde, became Queen of the Lombards in northern Italy and Garibald was forced to flee to her when he fell out with his Frankish overlords. Garibalds successor, Tassilo I, tried unsuccessfully to hold the frontier against the expansion of Slavs. Tassilos son Garibald II seems to have achieved a balance of power between 610 and 616, after Garibald II little is known of the Bavarians until Duke Theodo I, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onwards he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and his son, Theudebert, led a decisive Bavarian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Lombard Kingdom in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Theodos death the duchy was divided among his sons, at Hugberts death the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo, from neighbouring Alemannia. He was defeated near Augsburg in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748, saint Boniface completed the peoples conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria was in ways affected by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century

47.
Illustrated London News
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The Illustrated London News appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the worlds first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, the company continues today as Illustrated London News Ltd, a publishing, content and digital agency in London, which holds the publication and business archives of the magazine. As a newsagent, Ingram was struck by the increase in newspaper sales when they featured pictures. Ingram began to plan a weekly newspaper that would contain pictures in every edition, Ingram rented an office, recruited artists and reporters, and employed as his editor Frederick William Naylor Bayley, formerly editor of the National Omnibus. The first issue of The Illustrated London News appeared on Saturday,14 May 1842, Ingram hired 200 men to carry placards through the streets of London promoting the first edition of his new newspaper. Costing sixpence, the first issue sold 26,000 copies, despite this initial success, sales of the second and subsequent editions were disappointing. Its circulation soon increased to 40,000 and by the end of its first year was 60,000, in 1851, after the newspaper published Joseph Paxtons designs for the Crystal Palace before even Prince Albert had seen them, the circulation rose to 130,000. Andrew Spottiswoodes Pictorial Times lost £20,000 before it was sold to Ingram by Henry Vizetelly, Ingram folded it into another purchase, The Ladys Newspaper, which became The Ladys Newspaper and Pictorial Times. Vitezelly was also behind a competitor, The Illustrated Times in 1855. Ingrams other early collaborators left the business in the 1850s, nathanial Cooke, his business partner and brother-in-law, found himself in a subordinate role in the business and parted on bad terms around 1854. 1858 saw the departure of William Little, who, in addition to providing a loan of £10,000, was printer and publisher of the paper for 15 years, littles relationship with Ingram deteriorated over Ingrams harassment of their mutual sister-in-law. By 1863, The Illustrated London News was selling more than 300,000 copies every week, the death of Herbert and his eldest son left the company without a director and manager. Control passed to Ingrams widow Ann, and his friend Sir Edward William Watkin, once Ingrams two younger sons, William and Charles, were old enough, they took over as managing directors, although it was William who took the lead. It was also a period of expansion and increased competition for the ILN, as reading habits and the illustrated news market changed, the ILN bought or established a number of new publications, evolving from a single newspaper to a larger-scale publishing business. As with Herbert Ingrams purchases in the 1850s, this expansion was also a way of managing competition, dominating markets. As too with the acquisitions of the 1850s, several similar illustrated publications were established in this period by former employees of The Illustrated London News. Serious competition for the ILN appeared in 1869, with the establishment of The Graphic, Thomas was a former wood engraver for The Illustrated London News, and brought his expertise in illustrated publishing to his new magazine. The Graphic was highly popular, particularly for its coverage of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, William Ingram became chief proprietor of The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, and The Ladys Pictorial, which may have been a later title of The Ladys Newspaper and Pictorial Times

Illustrated London News
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First page of the first edition
Illustrated London News
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Front cover of the 1 October 1892 issue, showing a scene from Sydney Grundy and Arthur Sullivan 's Haddon Hall created by M. Browne and Herbert Railton.
Illustrated London News
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Jumbo's Journey to the Docks (The Illustrated London News, 1 April 1882)
Illustrated London News
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Cover of 20 Feb 1915 issue

48.
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
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Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.4 km from the centre of Paris, Saint-Denis is a subprefecture of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, being the seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis is home to the necropolis of the Basilica of Saint Denis and was also the location of the associated abbey. It is also home to Frances national football and rugby stadium, Saint-Denis is a formerly industrial suburb currently changing its economic base. Inhabitants of Saint-Denis are called Dionysiens, until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement called Catolacus or Catulliacum, probably meaning estate of Catullius, a Gallo-Roman landowner. About 250 AD, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was martyred on Montmartre hill, shortly after 250 his grave became a shrine and a pilgrimage centre, with the building of the Abbey of Saint Denis, and the settlement was renamed Saint-Denis. In 1793, during the French Revolution, Saint-Denis was renamed Franciade in a gesture of rejection of religion, in 1803, however, under the Consulate of Napoléon Bonaparte, the city reverted to its former name of Saint-Denis. During its history, Saint-Denis has been associated with the French royal house. Starting from Dagobert I, almost every French king was buried in the Basilica, however, Saint-Denis is older than that. In the 2nd century, there was a Gallo-Roman village named Catolacus on the location that Saint-Denis occupies today, Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred in about 250 and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus. Denis tomb quickly became a place of worship, around 475, Sainte Geneviève had a small chapel erected on Denis tomb, which by then had become a popular destination for pilgrims. It was this chapel that Dagobert I had rebuilt and turned into a royal monastery, during the Middle Ages, because of the privileges granted by Dagobert, Saint-Denis grew to become very important. Merchants from all over Europe came to visit its market, in 1140, Abbot Suger, counselor to the King, granted further privileges to the citizens of Saint-Denis. He also started the work of enlarging the Basilica of Saint Denis that still exists today, the new church was consecrated in 1144. Saint-Denis suffered heavily in the Hundred Years War, of its 10,000 citizens, during the French Wars of Religion, the Battle of Saint-Denis was fought between Catholics and Protestants on 10 November 1567. The Protestants were defeated, but the Catholic commander Anne de Montmorency was killed, in 1590, the city surrendered to Henry IV, who converted to Catholicism in 1593 in the abbey of Saint-Denis. King Louis XIV started several industries in Saint-Denis, weaving and spinning mills and dyehouses. His successor, Louis XV, whose daughter was a nun in the Carmelite convent, took a lively interest in the city, he added a chapel to the convent and also renovated the buildings of the royal abbey